Lumiose University - A Degree In Pokemon
by AmourshippingCanon
Summary: Ash, Serena, Clemont and Dawn have all worked hard at accomplishing their dreams, but each feel they need to learn more. Along comes an opportunity at the once prestigious Lumiose University, known for training top battlers, coordinators and performers. As the determined trainers embrace this new opportunity, they soon realize Pokemon skills aren't the only things being tested.
1. What Next?

**Author's Note:**

A new story? Whaaaaat? Yes, I got a bit excited and started writing this early. Now, I'm going to finish GCTO before I put up another chapter of this, but it's nice to get an idea of what everyone thinks before getting deeper into it. And, I think I've given you a lot to look over, here. A bloody long chapter, right? Over 10 000 words.

Alright, to start off here. This is a different universe from GCTO, Bonnie fic and even the anime right from the beginning. Ash has always travelled alone, he's done things a bit differently. I've done my best to keep his character the same, but without his companions having influenced him, he's a tad different. Same with the others who star in the story. Not sure what else to say, as I don't want to spoil what's planned, but just remember, things are different, but I do my best to explain it and more will be explained later. Now, let's get to it, and I hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 1: What Next?**

Ash could feel his lungs losing air. He could see the black spots appearing at the edges of his vision. The ringing in his ears became the dominant sound he heard, replacing the screams of the crowd around him. He hated this feeling. It had come to mean something that Ash always fought so hard to avoid. Failure.

It wasn't that he hadn't failed before. He'd messed up on things and taken steps back on his way to accomplishing his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master. It's just that this feeling, the one of cold, terrifying suffocation, had become the feeling of failing at something he'd worked so hard to master. It was the feeling of his connection with one of his most powerful Pokemon being severed just when it was at its peak.

It wasn't that Ash and Greninja were failing at sustaining their connection anymore, though. No, they had actually learned to control that power back in Snowbelle City, while coming to terms their defeat at the hands of Snowbelle City's gym leader, Wulfric. They had truly learned to sync their emotions in a moment of desperation, as they saved a Spewpa, as it plummeted towards the ground after falling from a breaking tree branch.

Their connection wasn't the problem here, despite the fact that Ash could feel it breaking. No, it was just that they were falling. Falling together, but falling all the same. It hurt, and not just physically, but emotionally. They'd come so far, only to have the dream end here. Their opponents were better. There always seemed to he someone who managed to be better, and here was another who proved as much.

Ash finally felt the connection completely break and fell to the ground. He managed to stay conscious, but it definitely took some willpower. The temptation to close his eyes and let the exhaustion take over was almost too much. Ash refused to let that happen, though. He was done with letting this connection overpower him. He could handle it when it was in action, and he could handle it when it was severed.

"Pika-pi!" came the concerned cry of the yellow mouse Pokemon standing next to Ash, as the referee in the middle of the battlefield declared Greninja unfit to battle, and the opposing trainer's Pokemon, Charizard, the winner, along with the declaration of their Kalos League victory. Pikachu, Ash's first and most loyal Pokemon, jumped up and placed his paws on Ash's arm, looking up at his trainer in fear, clearly worried the raven-haired trainer was about to pass out.

Ash looked down at Pikachu and saw the wide, shining eyes. His black-tipped, yellow ears were perked up straight, his zigzag tail as well. The brown stripes on his back seemed to shake as he panted, both from exhaustion, as he had also battled earlier, and fear. Ash managed to force a smile and reached out a hand, trying to hide how it shook from the disappointment he felt. He placed it on Pikachu's head, and gently rubbed the soft, yellow fur under his fingers. "It's alright, buddy. We'll...we'll get 'em next time, right?"

Pikachu looked doubtful, eyes still wide and concerned, although he at least seemed to understand Ash wasn't going to pass out. The electric mouse Pokemon turned his head towards the battlefield and Ash followed his gaze. Greninja was now on his side, lying on the ground, his blue arms stretched out, the webbed hands clenched into fists. His legs bent, as they had buckled when he had fallen. The pink of his tongue scarf contrasted with the blue fins on his head, which was slowly starting to raise up as did his best to get into a sitting position.

"Come on," Ash whispered to Pikachu, turning back to the electric mouse, "let's go make sure Greninja is alright. I bet he's pretty wiped out."

Ash turned his head back to look towards Greninja, and saw the frog-ninja Pokemon now looking back towards him, now in a sitting position, eyes downcast in clear disappointment. With a deep breath, Ash tensed up his body, and then pushed himself up off of the ground. He immediately realized he stood up a little bit too quickly, and his legs shook, while stars danced in front of his eyes. He felt Pikachu's little paws holding onto his leg. It probably wouldn't have done much if he was to actually fall, but the support and concern from Ash's loyal partner somehow gave him the strength to stay upright and move forward.

Greninja was only about twenty feet away, but the walk towards him was as exhausting as a trek up a mountain. Ash took it one step at a time, though, just putting one foot in front of the other and he and Pikachu slowly made their way through the charred and ripped up grass. Really, Ash felt like the worst part of his pain, was seeing how crushed with disappointment Greninja was. As Ash and Pikachu approached the frog-ninja Pokemon, he couldn't even look up to make eye contact with his trainer. It was as though he felt like it was his fault, and that he'd let Ash down.

Finally, Ash and Pikachu reached the gloomy looking Pokemon, and the often energetic trainer quickly dropped to his knees, both from his exhaustion, and so that he could look Greninja in the eyes. For a moment, Ash, Pikachu, and Greninja sat there on the beaten up battlefield, allowing the exhaustion and the disappointment to briefly keep them from making eye contact. They stared at the ground, and Ash knew they were all thinking of how close they had come, yet how far they still had to go because of this loss.

After a few more moments of letting these dark thoughts run through their minds, Ash steeled himself, took a deep breath, and looked up. "Greninja," he said quietly, not even knowing if his voice could be heard above the still cheering crowd. There was no reply from the stubborn water type, and Ash tried again, but this time putting more force into his ?voice. "Greninja, look at me, please."

For a moment, there was again no response, and Ash was preparing to try again. Then, slowly, Greninja's head tilted up, and his sad, disappointed eyes met Ash's. "Gren..." he croaked quietly, and then his eyes lowered again, although he kept his head raised.

"I know it's disappointing, Greninja," Ash told the sulking Pokemon in front of him, "but we can handle it. We just need to find a way to move on. We need to use this as a way to make us stronger." He could tell his words weren't getting through. He couldn't blame Greninja, though. Ash tried to hide it for his Pokemon's sake, but really, he felt the same way. After all this work, all the years of travelling and training, he thought he was finally going to actually win a league. It wasn't his ten-year-old fantasy anymore. It had seemed like he had a real shot at doing it. Now, it looked like he had to start over again. As much as he loved adventure, travelling new places, meeting new people, meeting new Pokemon, he was just feeling like it was getting a bit repetitive. He wanted a new challenge. A new adventure.

"Hey Ash," a low, serious sounding voice said from behind Greninja, distracting Ash from his thoughts. He looked up to see a dark-haired trainer with a light blue scarf and black jacket. Next to him was an orange lizard-like Pokemon with large, leathery wings, two tips like horns on its head, and a long tail with a flame at its tip. It was the duo that had defeated Ash.

"Hi Alain," Ash greeted, putting on a fake smile. He glanced at Greninja, who actually looked a little embarrassed, perhaps thinking it wasn't the best look to be sulking while the opponents who had defeated them appeared to be acting as good sports. Ash gave him a reassuring smile and reached out a hand to help him up. It took a moment, as Ash strained against both Greninja's weight and his own exhaustion, but he managed to get the frog-ninja Pokemon to his feet. Ash kept one of Greninja's arms over his shoulder to keep him upright, already feeling the frog-ninja Pokemon stumble a bit.

"Are you two alright?" Alain asked, eyeing the struggling Ash and Greninja with a mixture of concern and confusion.

Ash didn't really know the answer to that, and glanced awkwardly at Pikachu before looking back at Alain and nodding. He then glanced to the Pokemon next to Alain and smiled in acknowledgement of it. "Your Charizard is really powerful," he said, his eyes drifting down to the collar around its neck, and the little, clear stone in the casing in the middle of it.

"Thanks." Alain smiled, looking at his Charizard fondly, before moving his eyes towards Pikachu and then Greninja. "You've got some great Pokemon, yourself, Ash. I've never seen someone who seems to be so close to their Pokemon." Ash swallowed nervously at that, feeling the question coming before it was asked. "What is it that Greninja does? Is that mega evolution?"

Ash sighed, letting just a little bit of exasperation show. This question had becomev tiresome, and Ash never had an answer to give to those who asked it. He'd been hoping to talk to Professor Sycamore, the Kalos region's top Pokemon researcher, but hadn't had a chance to speak to the Pokemon professor with how busy he'd been with the league and the training. Alain couldn't understand Ash's frustration about the subject, though, so Ash did his best to answer with his limited information. "We don't really know what it is. It seems to have similar power to mega evolution, but there's something different about it. We don't use mega evolution stones or anything. It just seems to be when we feel the same emotions. Then, it's kind of like we merge. I can see and feel a lot of what Greninja does."

Alain looked away in thought for a few moments, his eyes narrowing as he seemed to be thinking about any possible explanations. Eventually, he just shook his head and turned back to Ash with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can't think of anything I've ever seen or heard of that could explain it." A smile then stretched across his face, and he looked at Ash with amusement. "Whatever it is, it's definitely strong. Maybe when you discover more information about it, you can find something to make it stronger. After that, maybe we'll have to see about a rematch." He held out a hand and looked Ash in the eyes. "Deal?"

Ash often never hesitated when someone asked him for a future rematch, but this time, something held him back. Maybe it was just about Alain talking about Ash needing to find out more about his bond with Greninja. He'd thought he'd discovered most of that on his own, at least in terms of the limits of its power. Sure, they could train more, and still work at improving their strength and bond, but Alain would do the same. He didn't know if anything he found out about the bond either by himself, or with any Pokemon researchers, could really improve the power it held. Maybe it was just the realization that he'd come so far, only to find himself still so far behind, that left him in doubt. He'd accomplished such a unique feat in seemingly mastering his connection with Greninja, but there was still an unknown amount of work to do, with Greninja, with all of his other Pokemon, and most of all, himself.

Ash's could sense his mind drifting off into the darkness of doubt again, and quickly tried to shake himself out of it. He looked at Alain, who stared back with not only surprise in his eyes, but a hint of irritation. Ash felt guilty immediately, and reached out his hand and shook Alain's, while giving a fake smile. "Of course, Alain," he said quickly, glad to see the irritation leaving the other trainer's eyes, "I'd definitely like a rematch. I think Greninja would as well." He took a quick glance to his right, happy to see some of Greninja's characteristic determination returning to his eyes.

"Ninja," the frog-ninja Pokemon said, echoing Ash's confident reply. Ash smiled, but as he started to turn his gaze back to Alain, he noticed Greninja's eyes begin to lose the light of determination again. This conversation clearly was of little interest to him at this point. Greninja needed rest and some time to come to terms with their defeat.

Alain seemed to have caught on to Greninja's feelings on the conversation, because he looked at Ash one more time and gave a short nod. "I'll see you around, Ash. Good luck with whatever is next for you. I'm guessing you'll challenge another league?"

Ash shrugged, glancing at Pikachu, who seemed just as interested in the answer. That would have been the easy thing to decide on, of course. He'd challenged leagues and various other battle quests after his other league losses. He wasn't quite sure what to do after this one, though. There was a part of him that still longed for that kind of adventure, where he would travel to a new region and meet new people and Pokemon, but there was also a part of him that wanted something new. A different kind of test and a different kind of path where he might still be able to get closer to accomplishing his dream. "I'm not sure, yet, Alain. I guess I'll go back to Pallet Town with these guys, and then I'll see from there."

Alain nodded in acceptance of that answer, almost as though he somewhat expected it. He seemed to understand that Ash was handling this loss differently, despite having never met him before. Perhaps it was noticeable that Ash was frustrated and seemed to be unfamiliar with what his emotions for this loss were. "Sounds like a good plan. Whatever you do, I hope it helps you with your dream."

"Thanks," Ash answered, smiling in acceptance of Alain's well wishes. "You too. I'll see you around, I guess." He was starting to feel a little awkward now, not knowing how to leave this conversation. The crowd had quieted a bit, and the arena announcer was explaining plans for Alain's victory ceremony, so they were kind of standing while everyone watched them.

Alain made it easier for him, though, reaching into the pocket of his black jacket and pulling out a pokeball. "Thanks, Charizard," he said quietly, turning to his Pokemon and holding up the pokeball, "you deserve a rest." He raised the pokeball higher, and it clicked open. A light enveloped Charizard's body, and he glowed a moment, before becoming a collection of red energy. The energy quickly started rushing towards the open pokeball, which then shut tight, as the light filled it.

As Alain turned and walked away, Ash watched him for a few moments, wondering how he had both been so close to to winning this league, yet so far away from beating Alain. Greninja had put up a great fight against Charizard, sure, but how close were they, really? Maybe their connection wasn't as powerful as they had thought. Greninja may have defeated Wulfric's Mega Abomasnow, but it wasn't like all mega evolved Pokemon were unbeatable. Pikachu had defeated a Mega Lucario without having any kind of special form. That Charizard had been one of the stronger examples, though, and Ash always wanted to be able to beat the best. He hadn't been able to do that on this occasion, despite thinking he was so close. He still had so much to learn. He just wished he knew where to start.

* * *

"Serena, what are you looking at?" The honey-blonde trainer jumped at the sound of her name being called. Her eyes broke away from the raven-haired trainer down below, with the red cap and the blue jacket. He had been in the middle of recalling his Greninja, and his Pikachu was hopping up onto his shoulder. The whole scene might not have interested most people, but to Serena, she could see the love this boy had for his Pokemon, and how gentle he was with them. She felt so bad that he had lost. She had been rooting for him the whole match. She'd had an odd feeling the whole time, as though it was wrong to cheer against him. It had just kind of felt like he was an old friend who needed support.

Serena took a deep breath and then looked at the girl who had called her name. Shauna, the energetic green-eyed brunette, with her pink shirt and extra short blue shorts. They'd become best friends since meeting at a summer camp hosted by Professor Sycamore a few months back. It had been Shauna who had informed Serena of the Kalos Queen showcases, and the quest aspiring Pokemon performers went on to collect Princess Keys, in order to participate in a Masterclass showcase, where they had the opportunity to perform against the reigning Kalos Queen, Aria. It had been a dream, which Shauna had herself, and had inspired Serena to chases as well. Both had done so well, that they managed to make it to the Masterclass showcase, and competed all the way to the semifinals, where Serena managed to take the win, before falling in the title match to Aria.

The friendship Serena had with Shauna went far beyond that of winning and losing to each other, though. In fact, Shauna had defeated Serena in her very first showcase, and had helped her to recover her confidence, so that she would continue moving forward and try again. And she did just that, bouncing back and winning in her very next showcase. If it hadn't been for Shauna, Serena would likely have been quite lonely on her journey, in terms of having someone that she could talk to, as she of course had her Pokemon for company as well. They didn't always travel together, but Shauna was always available for a chat, and they met up whenever possible.

Shauna had also introduced Serena to her other friends, Tierno and Trevor, who had both been at the summer camp a few months back. Tierno was a stocky guy, with short black hair and often wore a black shirt with a Vanillish on it. He loved dancing, and used it as his main battle strategy, in order to get in sync with his Pokemon and confuse his opponents. It had been quite effective for him, until he'd gone up against a trainer named Sawyer in the quarterfinals and was defeated by a Mega Sceptile. He'd actually cheered against that boy, Ash, in the semifinals. He'd mentioned that he'd rather he lost to the eventual Kalos League winner. Serena had been bugged by that, though, and had continued to secretly cheer for Ash.

Trevor, was a much more laid back guy. He had long orange hair that seemed to wrap all around his head. He was a great deal smaller than Tierno, and in Serena's opinion, quite a bit more tolerable. He was a huge fan of photography, and once he'd been eliminated in the first round of the Kalos League, he'd taken to photographing the whole league. Serena had actually gotten the feeling that he was happier doing that, than if he had managed to move on in the league. Although, he'd never really had a chance, as he'd gone up against the eventual winner in Alain in the first round.

Serena and Shauna had decided to attend the league in order to watch Tierno and Trevor, who had both been quite proud in making it there. It had definitely been a rough start, with Trevor losing in the first match of the whole tournament, but at least Tierno had managed to entertain and even confuse his way to the quarterfinals with his dancing routine. He'd even done a respectable job there, before falling to Sawyer's much stronger Sceptile.

Once Tierno had been eliminated, the group had decided it was worth their while to watch the rest of the tournament. Part of the reason was due to Tierno and Trevor being interested in watching the trainers that had defeated them, and seeing how far they could go. The other part, which Serena wasn't going to admit, although she was sure Shauna had noticed, was that she had wanted to watch Ash. Before she had realized that Tierno and Trevor were interested in staying, she had suggested the idea to the group, informing them that it would be, "interesting to see how trainers like Ash Ketchum performed." Tierno and Trevor were pretty dense, but Serena had noticed Shauna's eyes twinkling in amusement from that statement.

It had all been quite an enjoyable experience, really. Serena had never been that interested in battling, only really doing it when necessary, and sometimes as a way to train her Pokemon. However, after watching Trevor's first battle, and seeing two mega evolved Charizards battling, despite the one completely overpowering the other, Serena had been quickly hooked. With the next battle involving Ash, it had only become even more intriguing. She had instantly felt a connection with him, despite not knowing him and not talking to him. She had hoped she could get introduced to him at some point, but she didn't have the courage to ask Tierno or Trevor. Besides, she had a suspicion that the two would have been jealous and not too interested introducing Ash to her.

"Are you coming?" Shauna called again. Serena shook her head, trying to keep her thoughts on the past and her thoughts of Ash from further distracting her. She was already worried about Shauna teasing her later on, so she didn't need to provide more ammunition for the rival performer. Serena took one last glance at the field and saw Ash disappearing into the tunnel where trainers emerged from before their battles, and then then turned back towards Shauna and followed.

When Serena caught up to Shauna, she looked around, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "Where did Trevor and Tierno go?" she asked, wondering if she'd gotten her and Shauna separated from their male friends due to her distraction.

"They said they'd meet us later. I don't know, something about meeting that Ash guy," Shauna muttered, glancing around as though she was looking for something. Her voice was oddly quiet. "I think they're interested in that special Greninja form or something."

Serena bit her lip and glanced down, feeling a bit frustrated. "It would've been nice if they invited _us_ along," she mumbled, unable to keep her frustration to herself. She quickly clapped her hands to her mouth in surprise and embarrassment. If Shauna didn't know before, she knew now.

"I knew it!" Shauna yelled excitedly. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" She was stopped walking and turned to Serena and started doing a childish, taunting dance, pointing and giggling. "You've been _obsessed_ with that Ash guy. You watched _every_ one of his battles, and you asked Tierno and Trevor about him like a hundred times...each!"

Serena felt the heat rise to her cheeks and looked around awkwardly as people stared at the two girls, clearly wondering what was wrong with Shauna. Serena at least felt a little comfort in knowing that these people didn't know what this was all about. She finally got enough courage to look Shauna in the eyes, and immediately regretted it, as her so called friend burst out laughing again. Eventually, she stopped, and Serena was finally able to speak and defend herself. "I'm not _obsessed_ with anyone. I just think he's interesting, that's all. I feel like I know him from somewhere."

Shauna rolled her eyes, clearly thinking Serena was just coming up with some kind of poor excuse on the spot. "I've seen you since the first day of the league, Serena. You watched Tierno's and Trevor's battles with interest, sure, but you were practically off of your seat when you watched Ash's. And you feel like you 'know' him? Gimme a break!"

"He just seems familiar, alright?" Serena snapped back, feeling kind of irritated. She was embarrassed enough without being teased, and how would Shauna know what she was feeling? It might have sounded weird, even to Serena, but she still had the strange feeling like she knew Ash from somewhere.

Shauna just smiled and giggled a little at Serena's frustration. "Relax, Serena, I think I know why you think you've seen him before." When Serena gave her a quizzical look, Shauna raised her eyebrows and held out her hand, as though she was about to prove a point. "Could I see your tablet for a second?"

"My tablet?" Serena asked, having no idea where this could be going. Shauna just nodded and kept her hand out, smirking a bit at Serena's confusion. The honey-blonde eventually just shrugged and then reached into her pocket and pulled out the pink, rectangular device, which opened up into two sides. She handed it to Shauna, who immediately started clicking away, obviously in search of something.

"I'm sure this is what you've been thinking of," she mumbled, eyes narrowed as she tapped her finger on the device in her hand. Her eyes then lit up and she looked up at Serena and smiled. "There it is!" Shauna squeaked happily, handing the tablet back to Serena.

Serena narrowed her eyes, suspicious of whatever it was that Shauna was trying to do. It could have just been that she wanted to tease Serena further and had looked up something about girls being obsessed with boys. She decided to just go along with it, though, and took the tablet that was being handed to her. "This had better not be a stupid joke," she warned Shauna, her nostrils flaring as she gave her friend a dark look.

Shauna giggled once more in response, and then pointed at the tablet. "Just read it, alright? You'll realize what this is about in a second."

With one last exasperated shake of her head, Serena held up the tablet, and moved her gaze to what was on the screen. She immediately felt frustration with Shauna flare up again, as she saw a picture of Ash, standing in front of Prism Tower, his Pikachu on his shoulder. He looked pretty tired in the picture, but there was clear relief in his eyes. Suddenly, Serena realized this wasn't some kind of joke from Shauna. No, it was a news story from nearly a year ago. It had been a pretty big deal as it was going on. Serena quickly started reading it, despite knowing most of the story already.

 _Lumiose City was put on high alert yesterday evening, as a nasty plot by a group of Pokemon thieves, went awry and set notable Pokemon researcher, Professor Sycamore's Garcharmp on a tirade across the city. A botched attempt to steal Garchomp, lead to it losing control of its senses, turning it violent and leading to various attacks throughout the city._

 _The Garchomp rampage eventually resulted in an attack on Lumiose City's Prism Tower. For a few minutes, it remained their, as it attacked from the high vantage point. News crews and police were held at bay, as the powerful attacks continuously forced them back._

 _Luckily for Lumiose City, though, a brave young trainer, Ash Ketchum, refused to let fear get the better of him. He managed to get onto Prism Tower and quickly started to make his way to the top, accompanied only by his Pikachu and a Froakie from Professor Sycamore's lab._

 _Once at the top, Ketchum was quick to act. With the help of Pikachu and Froakie, Ash ensured Garchomp was prevented from both harming himself and others down below. The brave trainer was then able to remove the device that had been disturbing Garchomp, thus ending the rampage of the powerful dragon type._

 _However, disaster nearly strike again, only a few moments later. With the damage on top of Prism Tower from Garchomp's attacks, part of the structure at the top gave way. The ground underneath Ash's Pikachu plummeted to the ground, and the electric mouse slipped and began to follow._

 _Ash proved his bravery once again, leaping from the top of Prism Tower without hesitation in order to save his Pokemon. The two sped towards the ground with a terrified crowd watching below. Ash caught up to his Pikachu and held it close, both not knowing if they were going to make it. Then, out of nowhere, a flash of red light came, and Ash and Pikachu were plucked from the air, before they were carried safely to the ground. It was later to be revealed as the Blaziken of the mysterious Blaziken Mask._

The story continued from there, with various quotes and a few more details about how it had started. Serena wasn't too interested in that, given that she'd already seen some of the coverage before. Not to mention, she was aware of Shauna watching her, and she didn't want to seen like she was still fawning over Ash. Not that she'd been doing that earlier, of course.

Serena tried to remember what she'd thought of that incident at the time. She remembered it, sure, but her memory was a bit fuzzy, as she'd been tired out that day with her mother's Rhyhorn racing drills. She'd watched the news of the Garchomp rampage and Ash's heroic leap, but really, the footage hadn't been the best and there had been no names at the time. When it had been revealed the next day that it was a boy named Ash, Serena had already moved her interest back to other things. The league had really been where she'd first noticed him and felt like she recognized him.

She quickly shut the tablet and tucked it away, before looking back at Shauna wit the best uninterested facial expression she could make. "I remember that," she said honestly, "but I never even knew it was Ash at the time. I only really figured out that was him when I saw him here."

Shauna laughed and gave Serena a doubtful look, although there was a bit of sympathy in her eyes as well. "I'm sorry, Serena, but I don't think you know Ash from anywhere. You just have a crush, that's all."

Serena's eyes widened and her lips pursed together. "I don't have a crush!" she shouted quickly, getting looks from people passing by. She quickly realized that a reaction like that was only going to make Shauna believe her less. It didn't help that her cheeks were burning with a blush, although she hoped she could excuse that with the embarrassment of shouting.

"Crush on who?" a voice asked from behind Serena. "Me?"

Serena turned her head, and took a deep breath, feeling even more frustration. Tierno and Trevor were walking up to her and Shauna, clearly not having gone to meet Ash. She turned back to Shauna and narrowed her eyes. "You're pretty sneaky, aren't you?"

Shauna just shrugged and waved to Tierno and Trevor. "Ready to go, guys?" she asked sweetly, smirking at Serens before turning away and starting to walk, not bothering to wait for an answer.

Serena glanced once at the confused Tierno and Trevor and then quickly followed after Shauna. She couldn't really be mad at her teasing friend. It wasn't like Shauna wanted to hurt her feelings, but instead reveal them. Not that her suspicions had been true. Serena didn't even know Ash. She was just a little interested in him.

"Don't worry, I won't bug you in front of them," Shauna whispered when Serena caught up to her. "They'd get jealous, anyways, even if it's not true. Especially Tierno."

Serena shook her head in exasperation. She liked Tierno and Trevor, but it was true that they occasionally exhibited interest in being more than friends. She did her best to show she preferred not changing their relationship, but they never seemed to get it. Particularly Tierno. "Whatever," she mumbled to Shauna. "It's not like it's true, anyways. I just thought I knew Ash from somewhere."

Shauna shrugged and actually looked serious for a moment as she thought about it. "Well it's a shame, but you probably don't know him. I mean, you're from Kalos and he's from Kanto. There's no way you could've met him, right. Unless Pallet Town and Vaniville Town have somehow all of a sudden become neighbouring towns."

"Yeah..." Serena said quietly, feeling disappointment and embarrassment begin to dampen her spirits. Something about the idea and possibility of knowing that boy had been so exciting. "It is a shame," she admitted, not caring anymore about hiding the fact she did have interest in knowing Ash.

"Maybe you'll see him again someday," Shauna said hopefully. "You don't know what he's got planned next."

"I don't know that for myself, either," Serena answered back, wondering just what her future held. She assumed she would just go back to collecting Princess Keys for the next Masterclass. Or, there was whatever that Palermo woman had been talking about. Some kind of special opportunity for hopeful performers. Whatever it was, Serena doubted some boy she'd never spoken to would be involved.

* * *

"Wasn't that an awesome battle, big brother?" the short, little blonde girl, Bonnie, in front of Clemont exclaimed, the little, orange hamster-like Pokemon on her head chattering away excitedly.

The science-crazed Lumiose City gym leader brushed his fingers through his blond hair and then adjusted his glasses. "It was quite remarkable, I agree. Both of those trainers were really deserving of being there."

"That didn't make much difference for that guy, Ash," Bonnie muttered, turning her head back to the street ahead, keeping ahead of Clemont, who, as he often did, trailed behind. "He gets nothing for getting that far, so it doesn't really matter if he deserved to be there."

Clemont sighed in exasperation. Sometimes his little sister could be quite smart, given her age, but at other times she didn't understand more meaningful things. "Well, Bonnie, I think it should mean something if you know you deserved your spot in a high quality competition like that. It would be like me finishing second place in a science competition or something like that."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed. Clemont had the feeling she was ignoring his words, only because he had compared it to something like science. She did often enjoy his inventions, despite them usually blowing up, but when he talked about it for too long, Clemont knew his sister could sometimes get quite bored. He understood it, although he did try to keep her enlightened about things, as he hoped it could help her when she one day be a Pokemon trainer like as she dreamed of doing.

"So why is it that we're going to the gym?" Bonnie asked, clearly deciding to move the conversation along. "I thought we were going to stay and watch the closing ceremonies for the league."

Clemont glanced back at the stadium that they had left a few minutes ago. It was now a few blocks away, although still in sight. There were quite a few people hanging around the front, and many were still going in and out. Personally, he didn't have too much interest in going back to that, whether the task he had set his mind on after the final battle was on his list of things to do or not. He wasn't really much for big crowds. Besides, they'd seen the best part of the league, and the only exciting part about the closing ceremonies was seeing the Kalos Champion, Diantha and the trophy presentation. He'd rather put it on TV for Bonnie later on and get to doing busy with the work he had planned.

"Sorry, Bonnie, but I'd prefer not to if you don't mind," Clemont said in answer to his sister. "There's just something I would really like to work on at the gym. Is that alright with you?" He felt bad, because he knew Bonnie was always excited about seeing Diantha, as many aspiring Pokemon trainers often were.

Bonnie actually didn't seem to mind, though, as she just shrugged and nodded. "I'll just watch on TV then," she said, turning her head back forward. "What is it that you want to work on? You seemed to be really excited about it at the stadium."

Clemont smiled, glad to inform his sister of his plans. Whenever she, or anyone for that matter, asked about his inventions or any scientific work he was doing, he was more than happy to discuss it. "Well, I'm very interested in that trainer, Ash Ketchum. There was something about him that was very unique. It wasn't just the special form that his Greninja took on, but really his whole battle style and the way he carried himself. I'd really like to know more about him."

"Um..." Bonnie started, sounding quite confused. She turned her head and gave her brother a puzzled look. "I don't get it. If you wanted to know more about him, why not stay at the stadium and see if you can find him to talk to him?"

"I doubt I'm the only one interested in doing that, although I would have loved the opportunity to do so," Clemont admitted, glancing back towards the stadium again, giving it a longing look. "Besides, talking to him now probably isn't the best time to do so. Like you said, he's probably not feeling too great at the moment."

"I thought you said it's a great achievement to come in second place and that he should be proud of that accomplishment," Bonnie muttered, sounding unimpressed. Clemont couldn't tell if she was mocking the idea of being proud of coming in second, or just Clemont slightly contradicting himself.

Clemont nodded, acknowledging what he had said, and still believing those words to be true. "I still think anyone should be proud of proving themselves good enough to be in that position. I believe Ash will see that soon enough. Regardless, that's not what we're talking about, is it?"

"Yeah, whatever," Bonnie muttered, waving her hand as though dismissing a possible lecture that Clemont was about to go on with. "Anyways, what is it at the gym that you think can help you learn more about him?"

"Well, I'd like to check the records and see if Ash challenged our gym. If he did, then I'll be able to analyze the data, and even the footage, of the battle, using Clembot," Clemont explained, words coming fast as he excitedly talked of his plans. "It's obviously a shame that I wasn't able to battle Ash myself, but hopefully I can find out some useful information about him using Clembot. It would be fascinating to figure out that battle style more."

Bonnie shrugged again, still apparently unimpressed. "I don't think he really _had_ a style, Clemont. He just seemed to battle. He kind of just did things in the moment." She giggled a little, apparently amused by some thought she had just had. "He kind of battled the complete opposite way you do. Maybe that's why he was so good."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clemont asked, voice a little higher than usual as he whined. "I'm a gym leader, so obviously I'm not _that_ bad of a trainer, despite what you say sometimes."

"Relax, big brother, I know you're not a bad trainer," Bonnie said quickly, sounding exasperated, obviously frustrated by Clemont not being able to take the slight joke. "I'm just saying that you plan everything out, but that guy Ash was a fast thinker. In the semifinals he made things really hard for that guy Sawyer, who was a bit like you."

Clemont nodded, understanding what Bonnie was saying. He supposed he already had a decent amount of information on Ash Ketchum just based on what he, and Bonnie, had observed in the Kalos League. However, he felt there was still more there that he could analyze. Sure, it probably wasn't something that he could spot right away, and it would take some time, but if he had battle data from Clembot, he could at least find a little bit more information. At least he hoped.

They walked the rest of the way to Prism Tower in silence, the noise of the crowds at and around the stadium becoming quieter and quieter as they walked. It was a little strange as they neared Prism Tower and the streets became less busy and fewer people and cars went by. Often, this area was the busiest part of Lumiose City, as Prism Tower was both the gym, and a tourist attraction. Clemont and Bonnie were quite used to seeing people gathered around it, but today, there were very few. With the league going on, it had been like this for about a couple of weeks, and without the gym running, even fewer people were around than ever. It was a little depressing to see, actually.

When they finally reached the gym, Bonnie ran ahead excitedly. As much as she enjoyed the big stadium at the league, Clemont could tell his sister still always enjoyed going to their gym. He glanced up at towards the top of Prism Tower as he approached. He remembered the night that Professor Sycamore's Garchomp had been rampaging around the city and how he'd finally been stopped at the top of this tower. Clemont and Bonnie had been at home while that was going on, worriedly waiting for their dad and watching the incident on the news. They'd obviously both been amazed by Ash Ketchum's bravery that night, but he'd been sort of just a name after that. When Clemont had seen Ash at the league, though, his interest had ignited, and he knew he was going to have to figure out more.

Within a few minutes, Clemont and Bonnie had taken an elevator to the top of the tower, where Clemont did a lot of his work on various inventions. It was a small room, with a window that looked out across the city. A desk with a computer and stacks of notes and blueprints was on one side. Clembot was on the other side, with many other inventions that were in progress. With the gym not running and his dad not needing much help around the house lately with Clemont and Bonnie back at home, Clemont had decided to shut down Clembot for a bit, so that he could do some upgrades. He still planned to do that, but obviously today he'd be doing something different.

Clemont quickly went over to his immobile robot, and rummaged around for the correct wires and then began plugging them in. He had Bonnie help as well, bringing over some of the Clembot notes and blueprints, along with the various plugs for the computer that needed to go with Clembot. After a few minutes of fidgeting with all that, Clemont turned Clembot around, so that its back was facing him, and then he grabbed a screwdriver and began to remove the metal casing which covered the the "soul" of Clembot's hardware. When he'd removed that, Clemont plugged one last plug from the computer in, and then clicked a few buttons, before going over to sit at the computer.

"Now," he began to explain to Bonnie, not knowing if she was actually interested, but assuming her helping him was evidence that she was, "I've started to load the data from Clembot's gym battles. I've set it to only load battles which he lost, so that should narrow it down quite a bit."

"Do you really think Clembot is _that_ good?" Bonnie asked, giving Clemont a doubtful look. "He's just a robot after all."

"I know that," Clemont answered patiently, "but remember, he's pretty advanced and functions so that he can learn not only from me, but the challengers he's battled. He's constantly improving, just as any trainer would."

Bonnie just shrugged, which Clemont took as a sign that he could continue his search for the battle data from Ash. It didn't take too long, and eventually, Clemont found a record of a battle against a challenger who had earned the Voltage Badge in a three on three battle against Clembot. He could tell that is was against Ash, because he could see that the Pokemon used, were Pikachu, Hawlucha and Goodra, which were all Pokemon that had been used by Ash in the Kalos League, and it likely wasn't a coincidence.

"Now, let's see if we can get some footage," Clemont whispered, noticing Bonnie becoming a little more interested as she leaned forward. "It's too bad he didn't use Greninja, but at least that's not all I'm interested in."

As soon as he started playing the footage, Clemont was entranced, and he could tell Bonnie was as well. The battle was pretty close, as clearly Ash hadn't been at the level he was for the Kalos League when he was challenging the Lumiose gym. However, he still proved himself to be a fantastic battler, and he was as unpredictable as ever. He was able to identify weak points in Clembot's strategy in seconds. He was able to use both his Pikachu's speed, and his Goodra's strong endurance equally well, proving that he knew how to use different strategies no matter which Pokemon he had.

And Clemont knew he was only scratching at the surface of Ash's abilities and techniques. He knew that if he studied this battle closely and examined what Clembot's thought processes had been during the battle, he'd be able to far better understand the unconventional style Ash fought with. It would help him become a better gym leader. It would help him see battling from an unscientific point of view. He always jumped on opportunities to learn, and this seemed like one that was necessary for him to improve himself.

* * *

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" Dawn yelled, forcing herself to keep her eyes away from the clock and scoreboard, knowing time was running out and the points were close. She couldn't distract herself now. She and Piplup were too close. With her Quilava down, and her opponent's Poliwhirl out of commission as well, it was down to Piplup and the opposing Golduck. Each were exhausted, but both were desperate to get their respective trainers to the finals of the Indigo Plateau Grand Festival Championships.

"Golduck, Confusion! Use that Whirlpool against Piplup!" came the counter of the opposing trainer. A blonde-haired girl with bright green eyes. She was a fierce competitor, often going for power over fancy contest moves. In this case, though, it was both. As the large pool of water began to swirl around the little blue penguin Pokemon's beak, the blue duck Pokemon held up its clawed, webbed hands and then its eyes glowed blue. A blue light covered Piplup's swirling water attack, and then crashed down on top of him. He thrashed around wildly, overcome by his own attack, and then finally the water shot up into the air, quickly evaporating.

Piplup was quick to rise, though, looking determined to keep fighting. Dawn smiled at his determination, also not ready to give up. "Alright, Piplup, let's keep this going. Use-"

Suddenly a buzzing sound rang out through the contest hall, and Dawn's eyes widened and her gaze shot towards the scoreboard. The pictures of both her and her opponent had vanished, their scores gone as well. Dawn's heart started racing, and she glanced quickly at Piplup, seeing that he was nervously looking up on to the scoreboard as well. Dawn shut her eyes tight and took a deep breath, and then looked back up, praying to Arceus that they'd managed to win this.

Then, the scores were revealed, and Dawn could see the little black circles with the small, yellow bars that filled them up like pie slices. Hers was about one eight full, which wasn't bad for a long, heated double battle in a contest at this level. She looked to the left of her picture to her opponent's score. Immediately, her stomach dropped, and her eyes went down.

Dawn could barely listen as Lilian, the contest announcer for the Kanto region contests, began the announcement. "And the winner is..." she called out, for dramatic effect. There was no drama, though. Dawn didn't need to listen to the announcement. She could already see her opponent dancing around in triumph. She even had the nerve to give Dawn a smug smirk, before turning to the crowd and waving as though she'd already won the whole thing.

"Pip-piplup!" came the sad cry from Dawn's loyal little penguin Pokemon. She looked down and saw him running up to her. He was probably just as upset as Dawn, but somehow, he put on a brave face, just for her.

"Come on, Piplup," Dawn whispered, wiping her stinging eyes. "We...we should get you to the Pokemon Centre." She ignored Piplup's wide, concerned eyes and pulled out his pokeball. "Sorry, Piplup," she said quietly, before clicking it open and recalling her water type inside.

As Dawn left the stage, she heard a few people in the crowd calling out to her and congratulating her on her performance. She appreciated it, obviously, but she really didn't want anyone's sympathy. She felt bad enough about the loss without having other people feel bad for her. As she walked through the empty hall towards the changing room, her eyes slowly began to sting more and more. Eventually, they welled up, and tears dripped down her face.

Dawn had been an aspiring Top Coordinator for years now, since starting her journey in her native Sinnoh region. It had been her dream ever since she could remember, as her mother had been a Top Coordinator when she was younger. The pictures of her mother's Pokemon performing beautiful moves, and winning battles in stunning fashion had inspired Dawn to do whatever she could to achieve the same feat.

It had started out fairly well for Dawn, too. Sure, she'd had some difficulty in a few of her early contests, but she'd managed to learn and work with her Pokemon, so that eventually she started to win contests regularly. Eventually, she had managed to make it to the Grand Festival in the Sinnoh region. She had done incredibly well there, especially considering that it was her first time competing in a Grand Festival, let alone her career as a coordinator still being quite young at the time. She'd made it all the way to the finals, before losing to her friend, Zoey in a very close match.

The loss in the Sinnoh Grand Festival had been disappointing, of course, but Dawn had accepted it. She knew that it was a great accomplishment to have made it so far on her first try, and that her future could only be brighter after that. If she could make it so far after only a short time as a coordinator, it was a sure bet that she'd be able to win in the next Grand Festival she competed in. So, she had set off for the Johto region not long after her loss, and competed there.

Unfortunately, Johto didn't go quite as Dawn had expected. She'd started well, of course, winning her way through the qualifying contests in order to attain the five necessary ribbons. However, she fell early on in the Grand Festival, not even managing to make it past the Performance Stage. It had been a crushing blow, and Dawn had barely been able to recover, only motivated by her mother to try again.

Things did get better as Dawn competed in the Kanto region. Once again, she gathered her five ribbons successfully. She lost a couple of contests, but she had made it to the final round in each, and had only lost to coordinators she'd known would be tough competition. When she'd made it to the Grand Festival, though, she was very confident in her abilities, and was sure it was her best shot at winning, even more so than against Zoey in Sinnoh.

And then this had happened. A loss in the semifinals was a better result than she'd had in Johto, but something about it stung far worse. To think that she'd recovered her form from Sinnoh and that she'd managed to come to the Indigo Grand Festival with her abilities at their peak, and then to lose like this...it was devastating. All that confidence only managed to hurt more in the end. Dawn knew it wasn't right to sulk like this, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to just sit in a dark room and cry until everything disappeared. She'd been so sure she would win, and then she'd lost. And she didn't just lose, she lost to someone who didn't even respect contests, or her opponents. It was embarrassing and it wasn't fair.

"Hey! Hey, Dawn!" Dawn had just reached the door to the changing room when she heard her name called. Not only had she heard her name called, though. She'd heard it from a familiar voice. She quickly wiped her eyes, hoping to hide her tears, and then turned towards the direction of the voice. She was right. She couldn't help but smile as she looked upon the familiar face of the orange and spiky haired girl, Zoey. One of Dawn's best friends.

"Zoey!" Dawn exclaimed, as her old friend and rival approached. "What are you doing here?" she asked, not having expected to see her, as Zoey spent most of her time in Sinnoh.

"I came to see you, of course!" Zoey said, as though Dawn had asked the stupidest question in the world, which she supposed it actually was kind of a dumb question. She _had_ mentioned the contest to Zoey, and the latter had expressed interest in seeing Dawn perform again. "I'm sorry you lost. But hey, you did really well. You'll get there eventually."

"Am I going to tell myself that _every_ time I lose?" Dawn asked, unable to hide her frustration. "It's getting a bit tiresome."

Zoey gave Dawn a sympathetic look, which wasn't normally her reaction if Dawn sulked. She was usually pretty tough on Dawn. "I know how you feel, Dawn. It sucks to lose, especially when you're at that point where you think you deserve to win."

"I don't just think I deserve it," Dawn said quickly, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. "I _know_ I do. I made it to the finals in my _first_ Grand Festival. I should have been able to do at least that in one of my other two. But no, I've failed twice. In Johto it was even worse."

It was in that moment that tough Zoey returned, and her eyes narrowed and she looked at Dawn seriously. "Don't be a crybaby about it, Dawn. You know you're a good coordinator. You just need to keep trying. You're improving whether you think you are or not. Each region is a new challenge, so just because you did well, or if you did poorly in the last one, it doesn't mean anything for the next one. You might come in last place in Kanto, and then get first place in Johto. It's all about the work you put in and also a little bit of luck. Sulking isn't going to change anything. You just have to work for it."

Dawn understood what Zoey was saying, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little angry. It was easy for Zoey to talk. She'd already managed to win a Grand Festival. Maybe she wasn't the right person to help Dawn out of her funk. "What do you want me to do then? This is three losses I've had now. It's tough to keep going when I keep losing and it doesn't seem like I'm getting any better."

"That's something you need to figure out for yourself, Dawn," Zoey said quietly, sighing as though deciding she was too tired to argue. "If you want to take a break, there's nothing wrong with that. You don't need to move on to another string of contests right away. Take it easy for awhile if that's what gets your mind clear."

Dawn considered this for a moment. She'd never thought about taking a break from contests like that before. She'd had a mini break while she'd been travelling Sinnoh, but this was different. Zoey was talking about delaying an entirely new adventure to a new region. It was an odd thought, but maybe it was something she could consider. She could always use the time to practice, and maybe it would help clear her head. "What do you think I could do if I was to take a break?" she asked, curious to know what Zoey would suggest.

Zoey smiled, clearly glad to see Dawn showing interest in her suggestion. "Well, it's always good to spend time with your Pokemon. I'd suggest doing something with them. Find something to do where you can learn something about them."

Dawn was always interested in spending time with her Pokemon. She obviously spent a lot of time with them on her travels, but she understood what Zoey was saying. It was worthwhile to do something with her Pokemon that _didn't_ involve contests and training. Maybe just have some fun and go on a vacation. Or even like Zoey had said, find something to do where she could learn more about her Pokemon. As much as she loved her Pokemon, she would be the first to admit she didn't know enough about them as she should. "Thanks, Zoey," she finally said, smiling at her old friend. An idea was coming to her. She was in Kanto already, so she might as well do it. She was a fan of this person's work already. "I think I know what the first thing I'll do is."

Zoey nodded and then gave Dawn a quizzical look. "What are you going to do?"

"I think I'll go to Pallet Town. I've always like Professor Oak's poetry and obviously he knows a lot about Pokemon. Maybe he can help me with some things." The idea sounded better to her as she said it aloud, and she was already looking forward to it. She'd probably be able to see a lot of different Pokemon there as well, since Professor Oak was one of the best Pokemon researchers in the world.

"That sounds like a great idea, Dawn," Zoey said, smiling. "You'll probably be able to learn a lot there." She took a glance up the hall, and Dawn followed her gaze. There seemed to be some foot traffic filling the halls, so things were about to get busy. "I'll meet you later, alright? You'd better get changed."

"Alright," Dawn said with a wave, turning and starting to open the door to the changing room. "Thanks, Zoey."

As she made her way into the changing room, Dawn tried to think of what she could do with her future. She was glad she had a plan on what to do next. It would definitely be interesting to visit Professor Oak and find out what he knew about Pokemon, but there was clearly a lot more she had to do than that. Contests were still a priority to her. She still thought that there was something she was lacking and that she needed to learn. If she was going to be a Top Coordinator, she needed to push herself. A break was fine, but she needed to find a new challenge that still allowed her to focus on contests. She just didn't know what that could be, yet.

 **Author's Note:**

Wow, that was a long one, right? You're probably wondering about a few things. First, depressed Ash. I know it's a bit off, but it's necessary for the story and remember, he's slightly different. Also, Alain, I kind of just put him in the dream killer role. He probably won't show up again, so his back story is kind of irrelevant here, as is the Team Flare stuff.

Next, Serena's interest in Ash. This one was tough, as I wanted to make it so she travelled without him being the reason, but still remembered the Garchomp thing, because who would miss that? So, since I'm making these characters about 18, it's been a crazy long time since that summer camp in Pallet Town, so her and Ash's memory will be fuzzy. Of course, it might not stay fuzzy.

And Clemont's interest in Ash, well I wanna make it so he's pushing himself to be a better gym leader. Inventions and science is still his main goal, but being an improved gym leader is going to be a large focus for him in this story, so learning from Ash will be part of that.

Finally, Dawn getting a starring role. Well, not much to say. Perhaps a bit of trolling for certain people (you know who you are). But also, she's a great character, and I wanted a fourth non-Kalos crew member to have a role. Having a coordinator was kind of important, so I just chose her over May.

Anyways, hopefully that clears up some stuff. I know that I probably forgot stuff, so please ask any questions necessary. I want to make this a GREAT story. I'm happy with what I've done with GCTO and what I've got planned to finish it, but I want this story to be REALLY good. REALLY REALLY good. So be harsh in your criticism for now. I can take it. Together we can make this story the legacy of AmourshippingCanon.


	2. Home

**Author's Note:**

This one took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. Sorry for the delay. I think what I should just say now, is that the plan is an upload for each story once a week. Should be between Monday to Wednesday for the Bonnie story and between Thursday to Saturday for this one. I try for the earlier days, but then I'll have a bit of breathing room. Anyways, enough about that. Here's chapter 2. I hope you enjoy and don't hate me for some of it.

 **Chapter 2: Home**

The flight back to Kanto from Lumiose City wasn't even close to being as enjoyable as the reverse had been about a year ago. Ash and Pikachu both felt pretty miserable the whole way, and their body language showed it. Ash sat low in his seat, head drooping to the side as he stared out the window. Pikachu was on his lap, curled up as comfortably as possible, but constantly fidgeting as sleep evaded him throughout the hours.

The two had obviously returned home after losing leagues before, but this felt more painful and frustrating. After finishing in the Top Four in Sinnoh, Ash had been sure he was close. Then, after losing in the Unova League, Ash had seen it as a wake up call. He had to try harder, and really earn his way to the top. So, after working so long and so hard throughout his Kalos journey, Ash was crushed that he'd gone so far to only lose once again.

"What are we supposed to do, Pikachu?" he whispered gloomily. "I've loved travelling, I know you have too, but it's just that we're always pulled back by something. At least, that's how it feels." He took a deep breath and glanced down to Pikachu, who stared back up with what Ash knew was a similar expression to his. Pikachu's eyes showed sadness, his ears drooped and his head hung low. Really, Ash had never seen Pikachu look like this, and he supposed the electric mouse had never seen _him_ look like this. He tried to think of something that would cheer both of them up. "Well, at least when we get home, we can get some of my mom's cooking. We'll even be able to see all of the other Pokemon. No place like home, right?"

"Pika," Pikachu squeaked, raising his head a bit and nodding. His eyes seemed to light up a bit. Ash knew his partner Pokemon enjoyed their trips back to Pallet Town, and would definitely be happy to see his old friends at the lab. It would be a good place to temporarily forget about the disappointment of their loss.

Ash even felt a little better after thinking about it a little more. He'd have to come up with something to do next. He knew he had to figure out what his plan was and where to go next soon enough. However, relaxing at home would be fun. He realized he hadn't exactly done much of that since he'd gone on his Pokemon journey. Maybe sitting still for awhile would be a good thing. It wasn't like he couldn't train while at home. He had plenty of Pokemon that he hadn't seen in awhile, so why not work with them for a bit?

 _But we still need to go on at some point. I'm not giving up on my dream,_ Ash thought to himself, turning his head back to the window, noticing that they seemed to be flying over Pewter City. He recognized the gym far down below, and wondered if the gym leader, Brock, was having a battle. "Well, if we're at Pewter City, I guess we'll be in Viridian City pretty soon," Ash said to Pikachu, nodding to himself as they quickly approached the Viridian Forest. "Ready for the walk back to Pallet Town?"

"Pika!" Pikachu said happily, sitting up and stretching. Both he and Ash were definitely more the walking type, rather than the sitting in a plane type. A walk from Viridian City to Pallet Town wasn't too long, not for experienced travellers like them, and it was a good opportunity to stretch their legs after the long flight.

It was still about a half an hour before they passed the forest and began the descent to the ground. Ash never understood that about planes, but he stayed patient until they were finally landed, and were able to get up. Luckily, he was a light traveller, with just his backpack with him, so once he was through security, he was able to get out of the airport fairly quickly.

Once outside, he stretched his arms out and took a deep breath, letting the sunlight warm his face. Pikachu did the same up on his shoulder. "Things are already starting to feel better, don't you think? It's good to be back in Kanto again."

"Chaaa!" Pikachu agreed, closing his eyes and sniffing the air, as though trying to convey that Kanto had a different smell to Kalos. Clearly it was one he enjoyed.

"Well," Ash said, smiling as he looked towards the direction of Pallet Town, "I guess we should get going. We can probably get back in perfect time for dinner. Maybe Professor Oak has some good food for you as well.

Pikachu nodded, and then the two of them set off. It took awhile to manoeuvre around the traffic clogging up the roads near the airport, but finally they managed to get to a path leading towards the exit of the city. After a few more minutes, they were finally on the quiet trail back to Pallet Town, where their journey had actually begun.

"Remember that first day, Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking around at the trail. Up ahead he could even see the hill where he and Pikachu had fought off that angry flock of Spearow. "What a way to start our journey together, huh?"

"Pika-kachu..." Pikachu mumbled, not sounding too happy. He was clearly thinking about how he'd been kind of a difficult travel companion at first.

Ash wasn't upset about that at all, though. In fact, it was an important thing to remember, as it showed just how far the two of them had come. They'd gone from being a Pokemon and trainer that couldn't get along, to being the best of friends that could probably never handle being apart anymore. That angry flock of Spearow had done them a favour in a way. "That was a good day, Pikachu. We'll remember it as one of our best moments when we're champions."

Their walk continued in silence while they made their way along the trail. Ash remembered running along it as he'd attempted to rush Pikachu to the Viridian City Pokemon Centre and away from the Spearow as quickly as possible. He remembered how that red-headed girl who fished him out of the river had had a bike, and he'd always wondered if he would have been able to make it faster if he'd taken it. He'd been tempted, but had decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Besides, that girl had seemed like an angry person. She probably would've been after him if he'd tried to take her bike, even if he would've brought it back at some point.

After about three hours of walking, with only a couple short breaks in that time, Ash finally started hearing the sounds of the town ahead. He picked up his pace, and Pikachu even hopped off his shoulder and started running ahead. "Pika-pi!" he shouted excitedly, stopping at the top of the hill. Ash picked up his pace even more, and quickly got up the hill, stopping behind Pikachu and looking down at the town below.

"Pallet Town," he said with a contented sigh. "Home." He took another deep breath, looked at Pikachu, and then the two of them began walking down the hill towards the small town ahead of them. Ash could see the rows of small houses in the middle of the town, surrounded by the small shops and restaurants. On the outskirts were more houses, further separated and with a bit more wildlife around them. Professor Oak's lab could be seen in the distance at the opposite end of the town, the forests and hills near it, clearly visible. "I can't wait to see all the Pokemon!" Ash said excitedly, looking at Pikachu up ahead, who slowed his pace and nodded, smiling.

As they made their descent down the hill, Ash saw a couple of Pidgey fly down towards the town, circling each other, seemingly having a mock battle. It made Ash think of Pidgeot, and he wondered if his old flying type was doing alright, defending his flock from that Fearow. Ash knew he didn't need to worry, though. If anyone could defend that flock, it was Pidgeot, and Ash knew that better than anyone else.

When they were about halfway down the hill, that was when Ash could truly see, smell, hear and just feel the familiarity of Pallet Town. He could _see_ simple, small town look of his home. He could _smell_ the home cooked meals and the freshly mowed grass. He could _hear_ the sounds of Pokemon, the occasional car and the people in the small streets. And finally, he could just _feel_ the peacefulness and familiarity. He'd really missed being home, and knew he needed this time to relax.

Once they reached the bottom of the hill and approached the entrance to Pallet Town, Ash glanced at Pikachu, biting his lip a bit nervously. "Well, I guess we got here in pretty good time. We _probably_ have enough time to go to Professor Oak's lab if we wanted to..."

"Pika..." Pikachu seemed to growl, not looking impressed, his cheeks sparking a little. Ash knew the electric mouse would love to go and see all the Pokemon at the lab, but he was also quite aware that Ash's mother was waiting at home for him. Pikachu had learned that it was better to keep Ash from rushing off to the lab before going home.

"Ha ha...right," Ash said a little nervously, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. "I guess it's off to home then. We should be able to get there quickly if we run, alright?"

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted excitedly, quickly dropping to all fours and then bolting off ahead of Ash, running down the main path that would lead them home. Ash hadn't been planning on trying to go to Oak's lab after Pikachu's answer, but he got the feeling Pikachu was bolting off just to make sure. _Sneaky move there, buddy._

Ash quickly took off after Pikachu, running through the entrance at top speed. He saw Pikachu rounding a corner up ahead, and did his best to pick up his pace. He didn't know why he was racing to catch up, but he supposed it felt right after a long flight and the walk through the forest. _Might as well get the blood pumping one last time before getting home,_ he thought to himself.

Unfortunately, as Ash rounded the corner at top speed, he smacked into something, and fell back almost immediately, landing hard on his backside. He heard a shocked and pained yelp from in front of him, and blinked his eyes a few times to get the stars out of them. The person in front of him didn't look too impressed, and narrowed her eyes at him.

It was a girl about his age, with long navy blue hair, which had a white hat on it with a semicircle pink pokeball symbol on it. There were yellow clips on each side, with a strands of hair down below them. Around her neck was a red scarf, which Ash didn't get, since it wasn't exactly cold. She was wearing a black tank top and a short, pink skirt, which not surprisingly, were accompanied by her pink boots. She also had one of those fancy watches, a Poketch, which Ash recognized from the Sinnoh region. Ash blinked again, and then noticed she wasn't alone, as there was a small, blue, penguin-like Pokemon next to her, which he recognized as a Piplup.

"Are you from the Sinnoh region?" Ash asked suddenly, completely forgetting the fact that he'd just collided with this girl and knocked them both to the ground.

 _She_ obviously hadn't forgotten, though, as she completely ignored his question. "You're insane. What were you running like that for?"

"Pi-pikachu!" came an anguished shout, and a moment later, Pikachu was bounding past the girl and her Piplup and skidding to a stop in front of Ash. "Pika?"

"It's ok, I'm fine," Ash told his concerned Pokemon. He glanced up nervously at the girl and saw her looking at Pikachu with interest. "I accidentally ran into...um...?"

"Dawn. You accidentally ran into Dawn," she muttered, an angry look returning to her face. "And who are you?"

Ash sat up straighter and fixed his hat which had shifted a bit from the fall. "I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum from – well, from here." He laughed nervously and gestured around at the town and then looked back at her. He noticed she was still looking unimpressed, and decided there was no point in dragging this out any further. "Well, look, I'm sorry for running into you. I've gotta go, though. I haven't been back in awhile, so my mom's waiting for me." He quickly stood up and brushed some of the dirt off of his clothes.

"Oh..." Apparently his statement was enough to make Dawn realized he wasn't just someone who ran around knocking people to the ground. She stood up as well, shaking her head, apparently thinking dirt was in it. She then glanced away, looking towards a street sign. "Do you know where Professor Oak's lab is?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Ash was surprised at how quickly she'd gone from hostile to just curious. "Um...it's over there, at the top of that hill. You'll see a bunch of Pokemon up there." He pointed out the hill at the end of the town and then looked back at Dawn and smirked. "I hope you're not planning on stealing my Pokemon."

Dawn narrowed her eyes and her unimpressed look returned. "I'm not a Pokemon thief," she muttered, voice as hostile as her eyes. Realization then seemed to hit her eyes and she looked at Ash curiously. "Do you have a lot of Pokemon?"

Ash shrugged and started to walk, deciding he'd better get going before he had to talk about his league failures. "I have a few," was all he said as he moved past her. "See you around. Say hi to Professor Oak for me."

* * *

Dawn rolled her eyes as Ash walked away. _What a welcome to Pallet Town,_ she thought to herself, glancing down Piplup who was looking at her with concern. "It's alright Piplup," she said reassuringly. "How about we get going? Professor Oak's lab isn't too far away. We can introduce ourselves and then find somewhere to stay for a few days. Sound good?"

"Pip-piplup!" Piplup squeaked out happily, hopping a bit as he turned around and started leading the way down the road.

As Dawn followed Piplup along the small street, she couldn't help but admire the small town. It was somewhat like her own hometown, Twinleaf Town. It had the same kind of small town feel to it. However, it was a little busier here, with a few more concentrated houses in the centre of town and some more roads and shops. And of course, there wasn't a cool Pokemon lab in Twinleaf Town with a bunch of cool new Pokemon to see.

"Let's pick up the pace, Piplup," Dawn said excitedly, starting to jog behind Piplup. "I'm looking forward to seeing what Professor Oak might have to show us." She realized that as she and Piplup were running, she was somewhat being like Ash when he'd crashed into her. She decided to ignore that, though. She was _a lot_ more careful.

After a few minutes, they finally reached the edge of the town at the end of a long street, and looked up at the hill above them, which had Professor Oak's lab up top. Dawn could actually just barely see a couple of flying types flying around over top of it. One of them looked to be kind of navy blue, like her hair, while the other one was brown with a bit of white and some red on its head.

"Hey, that's a Staraptor," Dawn whispered in awe. "Whoever that belongs to must be a really good trainer. I know it's a pretty strong Pokemon from what I saw and heard of them back home."

"Piplup!" Piplup squeaked, sounding just as impressed.

Dawn smiled widely as she started to walk up the hill with Piplup. She could already tell this was going to be worth the trip. She hadn't expected she'd get to see Pokemon not native to Kanto, so that was an exciting bonus. She pulled out her Pokedex as she neared the lab, and pointed it up towards the navy blue bird that seemed to be having a mock battle with Staraptor.

"Swellow, the Swallow Pokemon. It uses its impressive dive bombing speed in order to catch its prey," the Pokedex explained in its electronic voice.

"Interesting," Dawn whispered, glancing up again at the two flying types. "I think Swellow is a Hoenn native Pokemon. I wonder if the same trainer caught both of those Pokemon."

She decided to ignore that for now and find out later. It wasn't really that important, but Dawn thought that maybe if that trainer was around, they'd be able to give her some tips on training. She did come here to learn after all. Even if those Pokemon were specifically battle trained, she knew she could probably get some valuable information. Battling was half the game with contests anyways. If she could toughen up her Pokemon, maybe they'd be able to finish off some contest battles earlier, rather than having them go to the limit as they often did.

"Well hello there, young lady!" a man's voice suddenly said from up in front if Dawn.

"Ahh!" she yelped, jumping about three feet into the air and looking at the man in front of her in alarm. Her eyes widened in embarrassment when she realized who it was. He was an elderly man, with white hair and intelligent eyes. However, Dawn could clearly see he still had plenty of youth in him as he looked at her in amusement, adjusting his white lab coat.

"I apologize for startling you," Professor Samuel Oak said kindly. "I thought you might have seen me coming out of the lab. You're not a new trainer, I hope? I wasn't expecting anyone." His eyes drifted down towards Piplup and he nodded. "Ah...no I suppose not." He bent down and looked at the penguin Pokemon with interest. "You must be from the Sinnoh region, correct?"

"I-I...I started my journey a few years ago," Dawn explained nervously, still embarrassed from her yell. "I'm from Twinleaf Town. I got Piplup from Professor Rowan and we've been best friends ever since." She took a deep breath, starting to feel a bit more comfortable. "I'm a Pokemon coordinator and I've been kind of having a rough time. I just lost in the Indigo Grand Festival."

Oak stood up slowly, eyebrows raised as he looked at Dawn, seemingly impressed. "Wow, you made it to the Grand Festival? That's quite impressive."

"Well..." Dawn looked down at Piplup who looked back with disappointment in his eyes. "We've been at it a long time, and we're having trouble with...well we just don't like losing anymore. It's getting old."

"Mhm...yes I understand that feeling," Oak said, nodding sagely. "I actually know someone who is going through something similar. I was actually on my way to visit him right now."

Dawn nodded, turning away and gesturing to Piplup. "Alright, I'll let you get back to that, then. Sorry for bothering you." She paused, biting her lip nervously. "Would it be alright if I came back tomorrow? I was just hoping you could teach me some things about Pokemon that might be able to help me out."

Oak scratched his chin and looked at Dawn thoughtfully for a few moments. "You know, if I know my friend Delia as well as I think I do, she won't mind you coming along for dinner. I think her son might be just the person you need to talk to. I may be an expert on Pokemon research, but he's the expert on...well something much deeper than that. He just got back from the Kalos region, too, so there are probably some interesting new Pokemon to see."

Dawn looked at Oak in surprise, eyes wide. She'd only just met him and he was already being so nice to her. "Really? I don't want to intrude."

Oak dismissed that quickly with a wave of his hand. "No, no, of course not," he assured the coordinator. "Delia loves to have guests, even when her son is back home. She'll be happy to have you."

"Well..." Dawn was obviously a little hesitant to go, but she couldn't deny that a home cooked meal would be nice. She'd been travelling a lot, so she hadn't had a proper one of those in a long time. And if the trainer Oak was talking about really knew so much about Pokemon, that was another plus side to the whole thing. She smiled up at Professor Oak and nodded. "Sure, I'll go. It'll be nice to relax a bit."

"Excellent," Oak said happily, doing a mini victory fist pump. He them paused and looked at her in confusion for a moment, before putting his hand up to his face, looking exasperated. "I apologize. I'm Professor Oak by the way. Samuel Oak." He held out a hand, smiling kindly.

"I know who you are. You're world famous," Dawn answered with a laugh, reaching out and shaking Oak's hand. "I'm Dawn. Dawn Berlitz." She then gestured down to Piplup. "And this is Piplup, of course. My best friend."

Oak nodded, smiling as though liking that specification of Dawn's and Piplup's relationship. The two of them then began walking down the hill together, back the way Dawn had come. "Well, Dawn, I'm very interested in what you may know about Professor Rowan's research. He's a good friend of mine, so I'm quite interested."

"Oh...haha," Dawn chuckled a little nervously. "Well...I'm not exactly the most up to date on that stuff. I think he's pretty big into studying evolution, though."

"Oh yes," Oak said, sounding quite enthusiastic. "He's done an awful lot of work on that. His research has shown that around ninety percent of Pokemon are connected in some way to others by evolution. A truly fascinating subject."

Dawn wasn't really into the whole research thing most of the time, but she couldn't deny that was an interesting thing to know. It was definitely always fun when she got to see a Pokemon evolve. Maybe she needed to learn more about these things. Just being more knowledgeable about Pokemon in general was something that had value, whether it was obviously connected to being a coordinator or not.

Once they reached the bottom of the hill, and Oak started leading the way towards one of the small roads, he turned to Dawn, interest on his face. "Well how about you tell me which Pokemon you have? I assume it's not only Piplup."

"I have five others. Buneary, Pachirisu, Mamoswine, Togekiss and Quilava. I also have an Ambipom who's in Vermillion City at the Ping Pong Training Centre." Dawn knew she didn't exactly have a lot of Pokemon for how long she'd been a trainer, but once she'd had her team of six, she'd been happy with who she had. The idea of having to separate from them to transfer one out was tough. Especially after _actually_ separating from Ambipom.

Professor Oak didn't seem to think her small amount of Pokemon was an issue, though, eyes lighting up with interest at the names of those she mentioned. "Oh my, you've got some interesting Pokemon. I would definitely like to see them later if you don't mind. Perhaps you can show us all some of your coordinator skills?"

"Uh...well..." Dawn didn't want to disappoint him, or be rude, especially considering she was getting invited to this dinner, but she really didn't feel like doing any demonstrations. She wanted to take it easy if possible. Maybe just try something new.

"Oh, pardon me, I forgot your whole reason for being here. You probably want a break from doing any coordinating." Oak laughed, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, hopefully you could still show me some of your Pokemon. That would definitely be interesting to see."

"Yeah, of course!" Dawn agreed happily, more than willing to show off her Pokemon as they were. "And I'm looking forward to seeing these Kalos region Pokemon you were talking about. I don't even know too much about the Kalos region and I don't think I've even seen pictures of what Pokemon from there look like."

Oak nodded, looking as excited as a little kid on their way to a candy store. "Ah yes, it's going to be quite the treat. And these are no ordinary Pokemon, either. They made it to the finals of the Kalos League only a week ago. Some of the strongest Pokemon you'll see."

Dawn's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in surprise. That probably could have been something for Professor Oak to mention earlier. She'd been invited to the homecoming of a super skilled trainer? Why was Oak being so casual about it? "What?" she asked, her voice quite high pitched from her surprise. "This guy is _that_ good."

"Oh yes," Oak said, nodding. Dawn noticed there was pride in his eyes, as though he saw this trainer as family. "Ash has come a long way and learned a great deal. He's one of the finest trainers you'll ever meet. I think you'll learn quite a bit from him."

"I can't wait!" Dawn said excitedly, her shock and nervousness from a moment before replaced by interest. So she'd get to see how an expert trainer went about their business. She'd really get to know and understand what a professional with Pokemon acted like. She knew she'd be able to learn a lot from this...Ash. _Wait...Ash?_

"There's the house!" Oak suddenly said, pointing up ahead, down the small road, where a small house with a red roof, surrounded by a little, white fence, stood. "That's the Ketchum residence."

 _This is gonna be awkward,_ Dawn thought to herself, glancing nervously down at Piplup, who returned the look and then seemed to sigh as they followed Professor Oak up ahead. _So that weirdo's a really good Pokemon trainer, huh? I guess I might as well see what he knows._

* * *

Clemont was not having the best of days. He'd been busy all day with Clembot, and altering the programming to find a way to mimic Ash Ketchum's battle style, but there had been far too many errors. Part of Clembot's head had even popped off during one of their mock battles, and then he'd started running into the wall, ordering Heliolisk to use Thunderbolt on a nonexistent Pokemon.

It hadn't just been Ash's style that Clemont had tried to emulate. He'd used some of his notes on many of the other top Kalos League contestants, particularly the Victor, Alain and the semifinalists Remo and Sawyer. However, when he'd inputted their styles, it really wasn't much different from what he'd already used with Clembot. They were different, but still very basic.

 _How does someone battle like that? How does someone get that kind of trust in their Pokemon? If I ever want to be a better gym leader, a better inventor or even just a better person, I need to understand what it is that Ash Ketchum did._ Clemont sighed in exasperation as one of the programs he was trying to install in Clembot failed to load and an error message came up.

"I need a break," Clemont muttered out loud, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling. He'd somehow managed to get wires tangled up there on the lights, and he had no idea how. He wondered if it was a prank from Bonnie for a moment, but then realized that his little sister was definitely not tall enough to reach up there. _What do I get up to when I'm working on my inventions?_

After a few moments of silently sitting and staring at nothing, Clemont stretched out in his seat, and then stood up, deciding it was time to get moving. He pulled out a few of the wires that were connecting Clembot to his computer, and then reattached the casing onto the robot's back. He clicked a few buttons, and then within a few moments, Clembot straightened up, and looked at his inventor with his seemingly emotionless robot eyes.

"Good evening, sir," he greeted Clembot in his robotic voice, the metal eyelids coming down somewhat creepily as he unnecessarily blinked. "Were you able to make any more progress on the work which you desired to accomplish?"

"Uh...well not exactly," Clemont answered, sighing at the thought of all the work he'd put in for very little progress. "It's hard to explain. I'd rather not get into all of that right now." He gestured towards the elevator, which would take them down to the base of Prism Tower. "How about we get going? Bonnie and my dad will be wondering where we are."

Clembot looked at Clemont for a moment, and then gave a short nod. "Very well, sir. If that is what you wish. Will I be required to prepare a meal for you and your family this evening?" He put his arm across his chest and gave a short bow, as if to demonstrate that it would be an honour to serve Clemont and his family their meal.

Clemont didn't want to get into that habit, though. He was glad to have Clembot for things such as that in emergencies, but Clembot's main purpose was for operating the Lumiose City gym when Clemont wasn't available. And, of course, now, his purpose was to help Clemont grow and learn, by trying to understand what the best and most unpredictable trainers did to get so far in life. All in all, Clembot was not meant to be something to be used as an excuse to not do things around the house. Part of that was Clemont trying to encourage Bonnie to help out more, and part of it was so that he could make sure Clembot didn't get overworked.

"No, Clembot, you don't need to worry about that," Clemont said, again gesturing towards the elevator. "Come on, it's getting late. We should be going."

"Very well, sir," Clembot said, with a robotic form of enthusiasm. He then followed Clemont inside the elevator, walking very straight as he did so. When they got in, he instinctively reached for the button and clicked it to take them to the base of the tower. Sometimes Clemont regretted making Clembot so helpful. It was sometimes better to do things yourself, and perhaps that was part of his trouble. He hadn't done enough of that, and was now too reliant on others. Obviously, relying on others was important to an extent, but Clemont needed to learn to face his fears and push himself to do things on his own. _All that from an elevator button push. I've got way too much on my mind,_ Clemont thought, as the elevator rushed downwards.

Once they reached the bottom of the tower, Clemont and his robotic assistant stepped out, and the latter stood at attention, seemingly thinking he was about to get sent into the gym. "Oh don't worry, Clembot, the gym doesn't open for another couple of weeks. We've still got time to prepare for reopening. There's still a lot of work to do before we're ready for the next wave of challengers, too."

"I agree, sir. We will be very busy, that is certain," Clembot said with a nod. "I do believe we will still be one of the toughest gyms in the Kalos region regardless."

Clemont gave a short laugh at that, and then turned towards the hallway which would lead back towards the exit of the tower. Within a couple of minutes, the two were outside of the tower, and looking up towards the setting sun. Something about a relaxing looking sunset made Clemont feel more relaxed. He needed to just soak it in for a moment.

"Excuse me," a man's voice suddenly said, causing Clemont to snap his attention away from the setting sun and look ahead. He could see a man approaching him, with black hair, a white lab coat and a blue shirt underneath. Clemont instantly recognized him as Professor Sycamore, the Kalos region's top Pokemon researcher and an expert on mega evolution. "Excuse me, Clemont?" he asked again, once getting closer. "I'm sorry to bother you at this time," he said, coming to a stop in front of Clemont and Clembot. "I'm Professor Sycamore, by the way. Unfortunately, I don't believe we've met, despite both having important roles in this city."

"It's alright," Clemont answered, smiling. "I haven't exactly been a gym leader for _that_ long. And...well Clembot is basically the gym leader half the time." He pointed to the robot next to him, and noticed Professor Sycamore's eyes light up with interest when he noticed the robot, however his gaze quickly went back to Clemont, who noticed the professor wanted to speak. "Is something going on?"

"Oh it's nothing bad," Sycamore told him quickly, raising a hand up as though stopping Clemont from assuming that was the case. "I'm here on...well I guess I'll call it business."

"Business? What do you mean?" Clemont asked, having no idea why the smartest Pokemon mind in Kalos wanted to talk to him for...business. "Is there something you need for electric types or something?"

Sycamore smiled, and then shook his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, no that's not exactly it, Clemont. Well, you see, the thing is, there's a project I've been working on over the past couple of years. It's been a lot of work, and quite frankly, it's distracted me from my mega evolution research." He waved his hand, dismissing that. "That's not the point, though. Anyways, there's something I've been working on with a few others, and it's finally starting to take shape."

Clemont nodded, although it was more so to be polite, as he still didn't quite get why Sycamore was coming to _him_ about whatever this was. He suddenly found himself getting quite interested in whatever it was. If Professor Sycamore wanted _his_ help for any kind of special project, he was definitely interested. "What is it?" Clemont finally asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Is it something completely different from mega evolution? Were you researching some other kind of phenomenon?"

"Um...well..." Sycamore gave an embarrassed chuckle. "See, it's not exactly an exciting and flashy Pokemon research discovery that I've been investigating. In fact, it's more about...well...bringing more people into that world. Not _just_ in research, though. In all ways. It's something to give people an opportunity to learn about Pokemon in new and creative ways. It's not a new idea, exactly. We'll have competition, of course. Many similar institutions are already in Kalos, and a few are in other regions as well. Their success inspired me."

"What are you talking about, exactly?" Clemont asked, laughing a little at how the Pokemon researcher's excitement was causing him to not be very clear. "Institutions? Like what?"

Sycamore smiled excitedly, spreading his arms out. "Schools! Universities, and colleges! And I don't mean ones dedicated to math, science, or subjects such as those, although courses in those areas will be offered. What I mean, though, is that these are schools dedicated to learning about Pokemon!"

Clemont thought for a moment, remembering a news story he'd heard a few months ago, about something like this. He'd never really followed it much, living in Lumiose City, which didn't have one of these schools, but Clemont had definitely heard of these other ones on occasion. And sometimes, what went on could lead to a big media commotion. "They make a big deal out of the competitions between schools, don't they?" Clemont asked, finally remembering a story about a school in Anistar City winning a championship, and getting to celebrate with Diantha. "It's called the Interschool Pokemon League, right?"

"Oh yes, indeed they do make a big deal of that," Sycamore answered, nodding as though the subject had got him flustered before. "That's something we're not likely to do too well with at first, being a new school, but I suppose we'll have to try. We _did_ have a very successful Pokemon university in Lumiose City many years ago. Diantha trained there for four years, and made it somewhat prestigious. Unfortunately, the success never returned, and they were forced to close fairly soon after her departure. It seems the IPL is crucial to a school's success in keeping classes running as well. We'd have some leeway, though. I don't think we'd be expected to do very well in the beginning."

Clemont nodded in agreement, kind of liking the idea himself, and actually having an image of himself participating in something like that. Now that he thought of it, he was pretty sure he'd read a story that a gym leader had gone to one of these schools a long time ago. It wasn't like he _wouldn't_ be eligible if he wanted to try it out at some point. He shook his head to get the thought out of his mind. He looked at Sycamore, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "So...what is it that you're hoping I can do?"

"I was hoping you could help me get the registration system working," Sycamore explained, eyes lighting up hopefully. "We've got the teachers, we've got the classes, we've got the dorms. All we need now is the students. If you could help in fixing up our registration system, we can start recruiting within the week."

* * *

Serena sighed as she stared at the Rhyhorn training field outside, nearly one hundred percent certain that her mother was going to want her to do a bit of training in that the next day. Even if her mother accepted her new performing life, Serena knew that their was still the secret dream for her to follow in the Rhyhorn racing footsteps of her mother. Grace was supportive of Serena's new path, but still _very_ enthusiastic about her own, that she'd often wished for Serena to take.

The whole thing just made her want to get back out on the road again and travelling. She loved her mother, but it was better to be doing something than sitting at home. And if sitting at home actually meant going out and getting thrown around by a Rhyhorn, Serena was definitely not interested. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't start collecting Princess Keys for awhile yet, which had led to Shauna going back home as well, where she wasn't pushed to do Rhyhorn training, so it actually made sense. Not only that, but Trevor and Tierno were off planning to do their own thing. They'd gone back home as well, but would probably be gone very soon, either collecting badges elsewhere, or doing whatever they decided their dreams should involve. Serena felt like she was the only one without anything to do that she enjoyed.

"Serena! Dinner!" came her mother, Grace's, voice.

Serena sighed again, and then got up from her spot, and made her way towards the kitchen, noticing her mother had already put the food out onto the table, and was sitting and waiting for her. Serena felt slightly odd about that, wondering if her mother had been waiting here with the food for a bit before calling Serena out. She decided to ignore that, though, and sat down quickly. With silent confirmation from both sides of the table, Serena and her mother began to eat.

The silence didn't last nearly as long as Serena had hoped, but it was a bit longer than she'd expected. Regardless, after a couple of minutes, Grace spoke up. "Well, Serena, what do you plan on doing until you can resume your performing?"

"You're not going to make me go back to doing Rhyhorn racing, right?" Serena asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was anxious about the whole idea. She liked Rhyhorn, of course, but the racing part just wasn't as enjoyable as it seemed to be for her mother. Not to mention, getting tossed around wasn't very fun at all. "I _really_ don't want to do that. I'll help out more around the house while I'm here, but just don't make me do Rhyhorn racing."

Grace looked at Serena for a moment, in silence, and then laughed and looked away out towards the window. "No, don't worry. If you don't want to do that, you don't need to. Remember, I asked what _you_ planned on doing. I didn't ask you what _I_ wanted you to do."

Serena opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it quickly, realizing she didn't have anything to really say about it. _Well, what_ do _I want to do? It's so long until I can get my Princess Keys again. I could practice performing the whole time, but eventually that would drag out a bit too much. I don't really_ know _what to do._ She finally just looked back at her mother, a gloomy expression on her face and shrugged.

Grace smiled sadly at Serena, a bit of pity in her eyes. "I guess you're kind of feeling down without your friends here, aren't you?" She glanced out the window again, taking a deep breath. "I haven't seen you this lonely since you were just a little girl."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, searching her brain for what her mother was talking about, but not finding an answer. She had to admit it was true she was feeling down since her friends had gone home, but she didn't think she'd ever felt this down before. Whatever her mother was talking about _must_ have been a long time ago.

Grace looked up in thought for a moment, drumming her fingers along the table as she did so. "It was about twelve years ago, when you were six." She paused a moment, which allowed Serena to wonder why her mother needed to describe her age like she didn't know it. After a moment of silence, though, Grace continued. "Do you remember going to that summer camp back then? It was only for a very short time."

Serena bit her lip as she thought about it. It didn't really ring a bell. It _had_ been a long time ago. She closed her eyes a moment and thought. _Camp...summer camp. Something about a Poliwag, maybe?_ Her eyes opened and she stared at the table in front of her, starting to feel a slightly numb sensation throughout her body. _What's going on?_ she thought. _Why do I feel so strange?_ Serena put her hand to her forward and lightly hit herself, which she realized was probably slightly alarming to her mother. _There was a Poliwag...and a boy,_ she remembered. _I fell in the forest when I was lost. The Poliwag scared me._ She couldn't believe it was all coming to her so quickly. It didn't make any sense that she'd forgotten it. It all seemed so clear in her mind at the moment. _Pain pain go away..._ She blinked, trying to remember the rest.

Finally, after a few more moments of trying to remember, Serena just shook her head and looked back at her mother, who was looking at her with a bit of concern. "I sort of remember it, but only bits and pieces." Serena couldn't really explain why, but she was really frustrated with herself for forgetting. It didn't seem right somehow. For some reason, she felt like she should be remembering. It was something important. Wasn't it?

"Well, I don't know if you remember what you were like before going there, but it wasn't fun for me, I'll tell you that," Grace said, smirking at the memory as she glanced up, looking as though she could see what she was remembering as though it were right in front of her. "You were refusing to go and you didn't stop crying the whole way there. I hated myself at the time for leaving you there, but we'd committed to it already, and I was so sure at the time that it would be a good experience for you."

Serena didn't bother pointing out that her mother's idea of good experiences weren't always the best. She still had a couple of scars from Rhyhorn training that could prove that. "Well...I remember that I fell down. So...maybe it _wasn't_ a good experience for me," Serena muttered, not knowing if she was bitter at her mother for sending her to camp twelve years ago, or herself for forgetting what had happened.

"I don't know," Grace said, sounding slightly distracted. She looked like it was _her_ who was having the memory trouble. I remember you being so down when you were leaving. I think you _did_ end up enjoying yourself. Something about Pallet Town made you want to stay."

Serena just shrugged, deciding she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Whether being sad about leaving a camp and being sad about her friends being gone was the same thing or not, she had to find something to do regardless. Nothing was going to change that. She realized that she and her mother had been leaving their food in front of them getting cold, and quickly started to eat. Before she went into communication lock down with her mother, she gave her one more look. "I'll deal with what I'm gonna do next soon enough. Let's just enjoy our dinner for now."

Grace just nodded, and then the two of them began to eat once again. The rest of the evening went by pretty slowly after that. Even though Serena had wanted to push the conversation and thoughts of what she was going to have to do out of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder. She didn't know of any other regions that had performances like Kalos, so it wasn't like she could even just hop on a plane and start hunting Princess Keys somewhere else. As the night wore on, she just felt herself growing more and more anxious.

Finally, the time came for bed, and after wishing her mother goodnight, Serena made her way to her bedroom. She yawned, feeling exhaustion starting to overtake her. She knew she'd fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. For a moment, she was wondering if she'd even make it to her bed, as her eyes started to droop. She gave her head a quick shake, and then went over to her closet in order to get fresh pyjamas. She couldn't sleep in her day clothes of course.

As she rummaged through her closet, she noticed something slightly blue near the back of it at the bottom. _Must've fallen when I unpacked after getting back,_ Serena realized, reaching forward and taking hold of it and pulling it out. To her surprise, it wasn't some kind of shirt or hat, which her closet was full of. No, it was much too small for that. It was...a handkerchief. It was mostly light blue, except for the bottom which was a darker shade. There was also a little pokeball symbol on it, signifying it as the handkerchief of a Pokemon lover. A handkerchief that Serena definitely hadn't had before she realized how much she liked Pokemon.

 _Don't give up till it's over._

Serena's eyes widened, and she stared at the handkerchief in her hands. What had her mother said, again? _Something about Pallet Town made you want to stay. Something about...Pallet Town!_

"Oh my Arceus..." Serena whispered...holding up the handkerchief and looking closely at it. She'd been right that whole time at the Kalos League. She'd known it in her gut. She'd known it in her _heart._ "Ash..." she felt her eyes fill with tears. Had she let her only opportunity to see him, slip away? Had she really allowed her doubt make her think he wasn't worth talking to? No...it didn't need to be like that. She even knew where he lived. "Don't give up till it's over," she whispered to herself. _Don't give up till it's over. I'm going to see you again. I'm going to see you, Ash. I'm not forgetting about you ever again._

 **Author's Note:**

Alright, so I bet some of you think you know what I've got planned. I know a few of you wanted me to confirm...certain things. I'm not gonna do that. This story has a large focus on what I am sure most of you are wondering about right now. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ask, but be specific about what you want to know. I'm not revealing my secrets. What I will say, is that if you've read GCTO, hopefully you know me well enough not to be too worried.

So, anyways, about the actual chapter. Ash and Dawn had their brief meeting and are about to interact a bit more. I've got something interesting planned there. Clemont's the first one to find out about the school. I don't know how well that was put in there, but I liked the idea of making it new, because then it's like it's an underdog school despite being in a big city. And with this Interschool Pokemon League, I've got some fun stuff planned. And, finally, Serena and her memories. Hopefully I didn't make her too forgetful, but I guess that was the point of the chapter, her part, having her remember.

Hope you enjoyed. Share your thoughts. Still early, so the big improvements should come sooner rather than later. Be tough on me. See ya next time.


	3. A Lot to Learn

**Author's Note:**

Wow, you are all amazing! All those reviews on the last chapter...I could barely keep up. Looks like you're enjoying things so far, and I'm glad to see it. Hopefully you continue to enjoy with what comes next. Might as well get to it, then.

 **Chapter 3: A Lot to Learn**

The first thing that happened when Ash had arrived home, was the usual motherly attention he received whenever he got back from his journeys. Delia had rushed up to him, fussed over him, asked him about fifty questions, and then told him to change his clothes and put the old ones in the laundry. It was quite the barrage to receive upon arrival, so Ash stood in a daze for a moment, while his mother started rushing off to the kitchen.

Delia whipped around, somehow sensing that Ash hadn't moved. "Ash, get going!" she hissed, waving her arm towards the stairs. "Professor Oak will be here soon. He's coming for dinner."

"Oh really?" Ash asked excitedly, kicking off his shoes and starting to walk towards the stairs. "Maybe we can go to the lab later? I'd like to see all my Pokemon."

His mother looked like she'd been expecting that question and smirked once Ash asked it. "I think that can be arranged." She then pointed upstairs and a stern expression came to her face. "You do need to get ready, though. Dinner is almost ready and Professor Oak will be here very soon."

"Right," Ash said quickly, heading up the stairs on the way to his room. He looked up at Pikachu on his shoulder and could see the electric mouse was happy to be home, whatever amount of time it would be for. "It's been awhile since I've had one of mom's meals," Ash said, stomach rumbling as he spoke.

As they went up the stairs, past a long row of pictures of Ash as a little kid, Ash battling in Pokemon leagues and Ash with his Pokemon, he felt a rush of relief at being home. He noticed a picture of him at Professor Oak's summer camp, and even though he couldn't remember too much about it, he felt happy seeing his younger, smiling self, standing next to a honey-blonde haired girl with a straw hat. He shrugged and continued on his way around a corner and approached his room, eyes lighting up as he saw the door. More memories of that first day came back to him.

"It's a good thing I woke up late that day, huh Pikachu?" Ash asked, stopping in front of his room and glancing again at his smiling Pokemon. "I don't even know what I would've done if I'd never gotten to travel with you as my partner."

Pikachu nodded, actually looking a little upset at the thought. Ash supposed Pikachu was thinking about how close that reality had come to happening. It wasn't exactly a happy thought for him, either, and he smiled comfortingly at Pikachu.

The two of them then entered Ash's room, and Ash couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at the sight of it. He was glad nobody was there to see it, as it was definitely not the room of someone who was grown up. It wasn't like it was before, as his mother had tried to keep it clean while he was gone, but he still had his kiddie pokeball patterned bed sheets, his Snorlax plushie, his broken Voltorb clock, and various Pokemon posters.

It wasn't all bad, though. On top his dresser drawers across from his bed, were all the various badges and trophies he'd received. He hadn't seen them in a while, so he was actually a little alarmed at how crowded it all was when put together, especially as he took out his badge case from Kalos and put it alongside the rest.

All in all, he had fifty-two badges from Kanto, the Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos. He had seven Frontier symbols from the Battle Frontier, all put in a plaque he had received for winning all seven. And, he had the Orange League trophy for defeating Drake, the supreme gym leader of the Orange League. Looking at all of them made Ash realize just how much he'd accomplished throughout his time as a Pokemon trainer. However, there was one thing he knew that he was missing. _I need a Pokemon League victor's trophy. I should've had one in my hands right now._

As Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and onto his bed, Ash continued to stare at his shelf full of accomplishments. He knew he should be proud of it all, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt frustrated in what he _hadn't_ accomplished. He didn't even notice it when he pulled off his backpack and tossed it to the ground with so much force it hit with a loud thud.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, and Ash turned around to see the electric mouse looking at him with concern. He was obviously not happy with what had happened either, but Pikachu could definitely see that Ash was taking things pretty hard. Especially at the moment.

"Sorry, Pikachu," Ash muttered, giving a fake smile to his partner Pokemon. I'm just thinking about..you know."

Ash took a deep breath, and then knelt down in front of his backpack and began opening it up and pulling out all of his travel gear that he had in it. He had, of course, packed light, but it still took a few minutes to clear everything out and get his clothes ready to go in the laundry. He was just picking up his backpack to move it out of the way, when he realized there was something else in it, near the bottom. Ash squinted in confusion, and then reached his hand into the backpack, and then felt his hand take hold of something at the bottom. Some kind of little box.

"What's this?" he asked, pulling it out slowly. When he had it in his hand within the bag, it had felt pretty light, so Ash realized now why it had been so easily forgotten. However, when he looked at the small, yellow box in his hand, he quickly remembered what it was. He opened it up, seeing the blue ribbon that was rolled up. "I got this in Coumarine City," Ash explained, holding the box up so Pikachu could see. "I was a special customer on the monorail or something, and they gave this to me. It was when I went to go find gifts for you and the other Pokemon."

"Pi...kachu," Pikachu said quietly, leaning forward from the end of the bed and sniffing the box. He then looked at the ribbon a few moments, before smiling at Ash. "Chaaa," he squeaked happily, eyes shining.

"Yeah, it's a neat little ribbon," Ash admitted, looking at it a little more closely. He didn't really know what to do with it. Other than the fact that it was blue, it wasn't exactly something that suited Ash. He decided to just put it up on the drawer, next to his badges. "I guess there's not much I can do with that right now," he told Pikachu, standing up and stretching a little. "Alright, I guess we should-"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang at that very moment, and Ash heard his mother, who must've been running to the door from the kitchen, yelling, "I'll be there in a second!" A moment later, Ash heard the door being opened, and a happy squeak from his mother. "Good evening, Samuel. It's so good to see you! Ash is upstairs getting ready. He just got back a little while ago."

"Oh, excellent!" came the exclamation from Oak's voice. "It'll be very good to see him again." There was a moment of silence, and then Oak spoke again. "I hope you don't mind, Delia, but I've brought along a guest. I thought that she and Ash might have a lot to talk about."

Ash narrowed his eyes in confusion and looked at Pikachu. "Who could he have brought along?" he whispered to the electric mouse, while he heard his mother exclaiming about how, "of course it was alright," and, "the more the merrier."

Ash ignored what was going on downstairs and quickly got changed into some fresh clothes, clipped his belt with his pokeballs on, and then signalled to Pikachu that they were going downstairs. Pikachu quickly hopped up onto his shoulder, and then the two of them made their way to the door. While heading down the hallway to the stairs, Ash heard Oak's voice coming from the living room.

"I'm quite looking forward to seeing some of Ash's Kalos Pokemon," he said excitedly. "It's been quite awhile since Alexa came here with her Noivern and Gogoat. I'm sure Ash's Pokemon will be particularly impressive."

Ash smiled to himself hearing that. Sometimes Professor Oak got just as excited about meeting different kinds of Pokemon as he did. He quickly made his way around the corner and started walking downstairs. He could tell his footsteps had been heard, because the voices from the living room had stopped, as clearly everyone was waiting for him to arrive. He picked up his pace, and a few moments later, he was standing at the entrance to the living room, and his jaw dropped in shock.

Obviously he'd heard Oak saying he'd brought someone along, but Ash hadn't exactly put two and two together. After she'd asked for directions to Oak's lab, Ash probably could have assumed they would've met up, and then she'd be the one Oak had invited along. Of course...after their brief meeting, Ash had no idea why Dawn would've been alright with going to his house for dinner.

"Ash, don't be so rude," Delia snapped, narrowing her eyes at her son. "Say hello."

"Um...hi," the stunned Ash managed to croak out.

Dawn look a little amused, and didn't say anything for a moment. Finally, though, she just smirked and answered, "Hi Ash, it's nice to properly meet you."

"Properly meet him?" Oak asked, not really sensing the awkwardness of the scene in front of him, but looking confused nonetheless.

"We ran into each other...literally," Ash explained, taking a seat in a chair next to his mother's, across from the couch that Oak and Dawn were sitting on. He noticed Dawn's eyes narrowing angrily at his words, and quickly continued. "Well, _I_ ran into _her_ ," he finished, blushing from embarrassment.

"Yeah, not exactly the best first impression," Dawn added, although when Ash looked at her, he noticed she didn't look as hostile as before. "It's fine, though. Ash gave me directions to Professor Oak's lab, and then Professor Oak invited me here."

Delia clapped her hands together, looking excitedly at all those in the living room. "Well I'm certainly happy you decided to come along, Dawn. I always enjoy hosting guests. And, as Samuel said, you and Ash probably have quite a lot that you can tell each other." She gestured to Piplup, who Ash had just noticed. The penguin-like Pokemon was sitting comfortably at Dawn's feet, eyeing Pikachu with interest. "You clearly both love Pokemon."

"Yeah," Dawn agreed, smiling down at Piplup, who chirped happily in answer. "I definitely love Pokemon. I want to be the best Pokemon coordinator in the world and I'm going to accomplish that with all of my Pokemon."

"Pokemon coordinator, huh?" Ash asked, suddenly quite interested. He'd seen contests before, and he'd even tried a couple out himself, but he'd never spent much time with a coordinator. "How long have you been doing that?"

Dawn thought for a moment, apparently mentally counting how long she'd been at it. "A little over three years I guess. I started in Sinnoh and did pretty well, but I haven't made any progress since then. It's been pretty tough."

"Mm...tell me about it," Ash muttered, nodding in understanding of Dawn's frustration. "I'm getting pretty sick of losing Pokemon Leagues myself. I feel like it should've happened by now."

"You're both being pretty hard on yourselves," Oak commented, looking sympathetically at the two trainers. "Being a Pokemon trainer is very difficult, but you both seem to have accomplished a great deal in your time as trainers."

Dawn sighed, looking at Ash a moment, before turning to Oak and answering. "I just feel like I should have accomplished more by now. Things are getting stale. I'm not making enough progress by sticking with what I've been doing."

Ash nodded, glancing at Pikachu who looked back at him knowingly. It seemed as though Dawn was going through a very similar thing to him. Obviously, adventure, battles, slowly earning your way to the top...it was all fun. However, once you'd done it for years and years, and the progress wasn't nearly close to what you'd envisioned it to be, it was hard to enjoy it as much. It was hard to imagine doing the same thing again, knowing that there was still a decent chance of having to start over once it was finished.

"I think you two need to clear your heads," Oak suggested, sitting up a bit straighter. "Perhaps after dinner, Ash can show us his Pokemon. And maybe you can introduce yours as well, Dawn?"

"Sounds good to me," Ash agreed quickly, giving a thumbs up. It would be good to get his Pokemon all out again. They probably needed it just as much as him.

* * *

Dawn had to admit she felt pretty guilty about her hostility towards Ash earlier on when they'd first met. She quickly came to realize throughout the dinner with him, Delia and Professor Oak, that Ash was not the goofy, foolish clutz, she'd thought he was at first. He definitely wasn't conservative, but he had more to him than she'd thought before. And she couldn't help but feel relieved that she wasn't the only one who felt that despite her successes, she was falling behind in her goal.

As they ate their dinner, Delia and Oak asked many questions of both Ash and Dawn about their journerys. Particularly Ash, but Dawn knew that it was only normal for them to be interested in him, considering he was their family. Well, family to Delia and close enough for Oak. Regardless, they still had plenty of questions for her, and she and Ash were fairly busy talking and even though Ash was able to stuff food into his face quickly, Dawn had a bit of a harder time.

She finally got a brief break when Oak suggested Ash talk about some of his Kalos Pokemon that he'd caught while in the Kalos region. "I had a conversation with Professor Sycamore a few days ago," Oak began, eyes lighting up in excitement and interest, "and he says you're Pokemon were very impressive throughout the Kalos League. From what I saw, they really gave it their all. A Champion level team in my books. All of your Pokemon were worthy of being in that final match."

"You must be a really good trainer if you made it to the finals," Dawn chimed in, noticing Ash looked a little down at the reminder of what had happened. "I think it'd be really cool to learn how to battle normally. I could probably make it work in my contests."

"Ah..." Oak said quietly, scratching his chin as he started to think, drumming his fingers on the table. "You know...that could be an interesting way to show us your Pokemon."

Dawn understood exactly what Professor Oak was saying, just as Ash looked at the Pokemon professor, eyes lighting up and a confident grin on his face. "Are you saying Dawn and I should have a Pokemon battle?"

At first thought, the idea wasn't too appealing to Dawn, as she both didn't think she'd have much of a chance against Ash, and also that she was kind of nervous battling in front of people she'd just met. She'd obviously battled and performed in contests in front of large crowds before. The idea of showing Ash, Oak and Delia, though, it seemed kind of weird. On the other hand, she had been thinking that learning real battling skills could help her. Maybe battling against Ash could let her see it first hand.

"Sure, I'll battle you," Dawn agreed, narrowing her eyes and holding up a fist, trying to look as confident as possible. "We'll see just how strong your Pokemon are."

Ash nodded, quickly standing up, stuffing the last bit of food into his mouth. "Awight, wets gwow," he mumbled through a mouthful of food. His eyes widened a bit, and he blinked and then swallowed, looking somewhat pained as he did so. He coughed quickly, took a deep breath, and then looked at his mother. "Is that alright with you, mom?"

Delia looked like she wasn't exactly too interested in the idea, at least not at that moment, but had resigned herself to allowing it to continue. "Alright, I suppose so."

"Awesome, then let's go!" Ash shouted, Pikachu hopping up onto his shoulder, just before he bolted out of the room. A couple of seconds later, the door was heard opening and closing, signalling Ash was out of the house already.

"Wow, I thought he was tired of battling," Dawn muttered, before quickly trying to finish of her food, taking a couple of large bites.

"It's not really that, I think," Oak answered, looking over towards where Ash had been sitting, as though he was still there. "Battling is what keeps Ash going. He just seems to want to find a new way to make it all click." He smiled, as though a thought had just come to his mind. "I wonder..." He looked at Dawn, almost studying her and seemingly trying to decide on the answer to something. "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to have you two join up," Oak muttered, likely not realizing that Dawn was hearing everything he said.

Dawn glanced at Delia, who was looking at Oak with a confused expression as well. Ash's mother then turned her head to Dawn and shrugged. "Alright then, I'll clean things up, while you three are out. I'll come and meet Ash's Pokemon afterwards." Dawn nodded, but Oak still seemed to be distracted. Delia reached her hand over and poked Oak in the shoulder, causing him to jump in alarm. "Go along, now," Delia said sternly.

"Right," Oak nodded, getting up and signalling for Dawn to follow him. She glanced once more at Delia, who smiled and waved for her to go on, and then the coordinator got up, following the Pokemon professor out of the room.

When the two of them got outside, through to the field out back, Dawn spotted Ash standing in the middle of the field, waving his arms so they could see him. He was clearly quite anxious to get this battle started. Clearly Oak was right. Battling was not Ash's worry, it was more his perceived lack of progress and questioning what to do next.

As Dawn and Professor Oak approached Ash, Dawn pulled a pokeball out, seeing that Ash was ready with his. Oak noticed this, and chuckled a little nervously. "Ash, do make sure you don't overdo it. Dawn isn't used to this kind of battling."

"Even if contests aren't battles, they can't be too different," Ash argued, looking at Dawn seriously, as though he was making sure she was listening. _Is he trying to teach me?_ Dawn asked herself, not knowing if she should be insulted or grateful. She decided to just listen, and see if he said anything that might be of some use to her. "A battle is a battle, whether you're doing fancy stuff or not. I don't know too much about contest battles, but if you can win the battle, you're going to win the round, right?" Dawn nodded, remembering that the Golduck she'd been battling at the Indigo Grand Festival had been tough, but in her mind, beatable. "Well then, let's see if you can beat me. Forget about the contest part, and just battle."

"I can't get into bad habits," Dawn argued, not exactly sure if she was comfortable with the idea of learning this style of battling anymore. She'd seen regular trainers trying contests before, and they rarely managed to even get through the performance round. Even if they did, their aggressive battling would cause them to lose points so quickly, that all an experienced coordinator had to do, was dodge and do a couple of flashy moves to finish the match.

Ash pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, thinking it through for a moment. He then smiled, nodding and taking the pokeball he had in his hand and putting it on his belt. He quickly pulled out another, and tossed it up into the air. "Hawlucha, I choose you!" There was a bright flash of light, and then a hawk-like Pokemon with green and red cape-like wings emerged. It had a green, mask-like face with an orange strip in the middle. Its body was a mix of red and white, red on the chest and white on the abdomen. When it came out of the pokeball, it started punching the air, and doing little poses.

"Lu-lucha! Haw-lucha-lucha!" Hawlucha shouted, punching and kicking the air as he hopped around doing poses. He was clearly quite pleased to be out of his pokeball.

Dawn couldn't help but laugh at this energetic new Pokemon. "Aw, he's so cute!" she squealed, clapping as Hawlucha did another pose. She quickly pulled out her Pokedex, wanting to see what it had to say about this new Pokemon.

"Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokemon," the Pokedex began in its electronic tone of voice. "Possessing an artistic way of executing its moves, Hawlucha takes great pride in their elegance."

"Hawlucha might not know much about contests," Ash explained, smiling as he watched Hawlucha do a couple more poses, "but he does like to be flashy. Maybe he can help out. We can battle on your terms first."

Dawn smiled gratefully. She wanted to become a better battler, but it definitely seemed like a more reasonable task to start with something close to a contest battle. _Who should I use against Hawlucha?_ she asked herself, holding up her Pokedex and looking at what might work best. _I know who would be good to use._ She also put back the pokeball she had pulled out a few moments ago, and then took out another. She quickly tossed it out, and a light flashed in front of her. "Pachirisu, to the stage!"

"Chi-pa!" the squirrel Pokemon squeaked out, its bushy, blue and white tail swishing back and forth. It scurried over to Hawlucha immediately, sniffing the air in front of the now startled hawk Pokemon, its yellow, electric sacs on its cheeks sparking a little.

"Pachirisu, get back!" Dawn exclaimed, slapping her hand to her forehead in exasperation. Pachirisu was often overly curious, so it could be a bit hard to control sometimes. Luckily it responded right away, and Dawn didn't need to embarrass herself any further. "Alright, ready to have a battle, Pachirisu?" she asked, trying her best to not act nervous about battling a Kalos League finalist.

"Chi-pa!" Pachirisu shouted back confidently, turning around, chasing its tail for a moment, and then stopping and looking forward at Hawlucha.

"I suppose I can act as referee," Professor Oak announced, tucking away a notebook he must have had out for observing the new Pokemon and taking notes on them. He raised a hand in the air, as he moved forward to stand between Ash and Dawn on the sidelines. "Are both of you ready to battle?" he asked, looking excitedly between the two Pokemon. Ash quickly nodded, while his Hawlucha lowered its body, preparing to attack. Dawn took a deep breath, and then nodded as well. _It's not like I'm a rookie,_ she told herself. _I just need to figure out what else I can do to be a better coordinator and a better trainer. Maybe this will help._

She wasn't even paying attention as Hawlucha was leaping forward, slamming a glowing white fist hard into Pachirisu's chest, sending the squirrel Pokemon flying back, bouncing along the ground. "Pachirisu!" Dawn shouted in concern, running up to her struck Pokemon. Pachirisu was slowly getting up, but looked dazed. It clearly hadn't expected that kind of hit so quickly. "I'm sorry! I got distracted. That was all my fault."

"Dawn, just give it another go," Ash encouraged, standing at his spot, hands on his hips as he waited. "Besides, I think you may have already learned a couple of things that you can make use of."

 _Yeah, don't get distracted and don't battle against you,_ Dawn thought bitterly, standing up and turning to face him, while Pachirisu shook itself and then stepped forward. _Well, not getting distracted is definitely something to remember,_ Dawn admitted to herself. _But, what else was he talking about?_

"High Jump Kick, let's go!" Ash shouted quickly, snapping Dawn's attention back to the battle. Hawlucha suddenly bent low, his leg glowing in a white light, and then he kicked off hard with his other leg, dirt shooting up behind him.

"Pachirisu, dodge it quick!" Dawn yelled, panic in her voice. Luckily, Pachirisu responded just in time, already braced to move. It kicked off the ground, just as Hawlucha approached, and the fighting hawk's leg just missed striking the squirrel Pokemon's back. Instead, Hawlucha's leg slammed into the ground, and he shouted out in pain, quickly getting up and staggering back, holding his leg.

"That's right!" Ash exclaimed happily, giving Dawn a thumbs up. Even Hawlucha gave her a nod to signal he too was impressed. "You need to be fast. Don't give your opponent an edge."

Dawn smiled, not able to hide the fact she was proud of herself. Pachirisu had moved fast enough to evade a pretty powerful Pokemon. Obviously she was no battle expert as of yet, but she was already starting to get an idea of some things she could use in her contest battles. And from the look on Ash's face, he seemed to be forgetting his own problems while he got into this battle. Maybe working through her problems with someone else was just what Dawn needed to do, and it also seemed to be helping Ash.

* * *

Clemont woke up early the next morning, ready to get started on the day. He hadn't really slept much last night, as he'd been thinking a lot about what Professor Sycamore was planning. His mind was racing through all the programs he could design for making a quick and easy registration system, and for making a simple way to recruit students to the school. He knew Sycamore would have some people in mind, but Clemont had a plan in place to reach even more potential students.

However, it wasn't only the scientific possibilities that kept Clemont up, staring at the various inventions he had scattered throughout his room. Something else was on his mind. Something he was surprised with himself for being so interested in. Ever since he'd returned home after his conversation with Professor Sycamore, Clemont had been thinking about how frustrating his work had been lately. How he needed something to push him forward and become someone better. He wanted to learn more about the world of Pokemon.

And what better place to do that than Professor Sycamore's university? Clemont had no idea if he'd be qualified in any way to register, but he assumed there might be some kind of test where he could get in if he wasn't. The whole idea was just so intriguing to him. As Sycamore had said, there would still be science classes available, so he'd be able to continue working on inventions if there were more advanced options. Then, there would be whatever Pokemon-themed classes Sycamore wanted to focus on. It would be a perfect way to further understand the world of Pokemon, from people who were experts on the subject.

Clemont couldn't deny that he had some interest in the Interschool Pokemon League as well. Being a gym leader, he knew his battling skills were at least adequate for most scenarios. He didn't know what the process was for joining whatever battling teams these schools had, but he liked the idea of at least trying and seeing what he could do.

With a deep breath, Clemont got up from his bed, and quickly started to get ready, having to make his way through a maze of blueprints and scattered inventions just to get to his clothes. _If I want to go to a school, I'm definitely going to need to improve my organizational skills,_ Clemont thought to himself, after nearly tripping over a miniature Luxray robot, that Clemont had at one point hoped would be effective in training Luxray, but hadn't really done anything other than copy the electric lion's attacks with a fraction of the power.

After a few minutes, Clemont was finally ready, and he made his way out of his room, and down the hallway towards the kitchen. He could hear Bonnie and his dad were already up, which was a little surprising, considering he'd gotten up earlier than normal, and usually neither of them were up when he got up on other days. Nonetheless, as he entered the kitchen, he could see that breakfast was already made, and that his father and sister were sitting at the table, happily eating.

"Why are you two up so early?" Clemont asked, adjusting his glasses and rubbing his eyes a little, still feeling pretty tired. Once he was done, he sat down and looked at his dad for an answer.

Meyer shrugged, putting his knife and fork down and standing up, apparently deciding to go get Clemont his breakfast. "Well, when you told us last night that you were going to be working on that project with Professor Sycamore, I called him later on," Meyer informed Clemont, getting some pancakes off of a pan and putting them on a plate. "I thought it would be better if he came over here. There are a couple of things _I'm_ working on with him as well, so once you set up that program for him, I can get to work. It'll be easier with your own supplies, won't it?" he asked, walking over and handing Clemont his plate, before sitting down.

"Yeah, I guess so," Clemont answered, as he began to slowly eat. If he was honest, he would've said he'd prefer to go to Sycamore's lab, as there would likely be far more he could do there. There was also the matter of Clemont's unspoken desire to go to Sycamore's planned school. As he took a couple of bites of his food, he thought a little more about it. Maybe he should say something, just so there wasn't too big a deal made about it when Sycamore showed up. "Um...I've been thinking about something," Clemont started, cursing himself for the nervousness in his voice.

"What about?" Meyer asked, smiling a little as he watched his son trying to find whatever words he was trying to speak. "Did you find yourself a girlfriend?" he asked hopefully, leaning forward with his eyes widening.

"Did you?" Bonnie almost shouted, nearly leaping out of her chair as she jumped up in excitement. "Did you actually find a nice girl to take care of you?" Clemont could see his sister's eyes nearly popping out of her head as she stared at him in excitement. He never understood why she was so desperate to find him a girlfriend.

Clemont took a deep breath, and rubbed his forehead, trying to ignore his desperate father and sister. Their interest in him getting a girlfriend really made very little sense to him. "No, that's not it at all," he finally muttered, a hint of anger in his voice. He took another deep breath and glanced first at Bonnie, and then at his father. "I've been thinking...I'd like to apply to Professor Sycamore's university."

For a moment, nobody said anything, and Clemont stared back and forth between Bonnie and Meyer, wondering if he'd just completely embarrassed himself, and somehow being embarrassed because he didn't know if he should be embarrassed or not. Finally, though, Meyer smiled and clapped his hand hard on the table, making the plates and glasses shake. "That's _wonderful_ , Clemont!" he exclaimed, shaking a little in his chair from the excitement. "I think that's a perfect idea."

"Really?" Clemont asked, a little alarmed at his father's enthusiasm. His dad nodded immediately, and Clemont smiled, a little relieved. He hadn't thought his dad would be so excited. He'd hoped he would like the idea, but the enthusiasm was definitely not expected. "I'm glad you think so."

"I like the idea, too," Bonnie chimed in, looking at Clemont with one of her mischievous grins. "If you go to school, you might be able to meet a nice girl who's a keeper and can take care of you."

Clemont sighed, rolling his eyes and turned to look at his dad. Meyer, of course, was amused by the idea, and actually seemed to agree. "You know what...Bonnie's right about that. It'd be the perfect place for you to find a girlfriend, Clemont. If she was at Sycamore's university, she'd be smart and she'd like Pokemon. She'd be perfect for you."

Before Clemont could complain about anymore of what his father and sister were saying, there was a knock at the door, and Clemont was suddenly very grateful that his dad had invited Sycamore here. "I'll get it," he said quickly, standing up and ignoring the giggling father and daughter.

Clemont quickly made his way out of the kitchen, down the hall, and to the front door. He could hear Sycamore talking to someone on the other side, signalling it was, indeed, the Pokemon professor, and he opened the door right away. When he opened the door, Clemont could see both Professor Sycamore, once again dressed up in his white lab coat, along with a woman with blue hair, also dressed in a lab coat.

"Hello, Clemont," Sycamore greeted, smiling and then gesturing towards the woman next to him. "This is my assistant, Sophie. She's been helping me out a lot with planning the school. It's been one of her main focuses for about the last year. If all goes well, she will be one of the teachers fairly soon."

"Nice to meet you, Clemont," Sophie greeted, tucking some papers she had in her hand underneath her arm and then reaching her hand forward. He returned the handshake and Sophie looked back at him with interest. "So you'll be helping set up the registration system, correct?"

"Yeah, as far as I know," Clemont said, gesturing for the two of them to come in and then closing the door. "I've already got some ideas for how I might be able to get it to work." He led the two researchers down the hall, back the way he'd come, hoping that they weren't noticing any of the pictures of him as a little kid on the wall. When they reached the kitchen, Meyer was quick to get up to greet them.

"Well good morning, Professor, it's good too see you!" Meyer seemed to shout with his loud voice, grabbing Sycamore's much smaller hand and shaking it. He then let go and shook Sophie's hand, luckily a bit gentler. "And you too, Sophie, good to see you."

They all sat down at the table, and after Clemont and Meyer ensured that Bonnie was polite enough to greet the visitors, she wandered off, clearly uninterested in whatever was going to be discussed next. Clemont couldn't blame her for that, as he knew it was probably not the topic she'd be interested in. She enjoyed some of his inventions, and listened to him when he talked about how some of them worked, but overall she preferred running off and playing with Dedenne.

"So," Meyer began, getting comfortable in his seat and looking across the table at Professor Sycamore, "if you don't mind me asking, what is this school all about?" He looked at Clemont, and then turned his attention back to the Pokemon researcher. "Clemont mentioned it was somewhat of a comeback for the old Lumiose University that was here."

"Oh yes," Sycamore answered, leaning forward with excitement in his eyes. "See, a few years back, I was doing some very early research on mega evolution, and Diantha was helping me out. This was before she had her own mega stone and key stone, so our knowledge was very limited. However, it was my theory at the time, which has been shown to be true, that a close bond between Pokemon and trainer is key to mega evolution."

"Mhm..." Meyer said quietly, and Clemont got the feeling his dad was a little uncomfortable, as he was eyeing Sycamore like he wanted the Pokemon professor to be careful about what he said.

Sycamore continued on, though, seemingly not noticing Meyer's look. "It was then that I noticed how strong the bond between Diantha and her Gardevoir was. It was truly like nothing I had ever seen before. At least back then. I assured her back then, that if she was able to ever find a key stone and a mega stone, that she'd definitely be able to mega evolve her Gardevoir. As you know, that theory has been proved correct."

Clemont scratched the back of his head, thinking for a moment about what Sycamore was saying. "What does this have to do with the university, though? I thought the university was separate from your mega evolution research."

Sycamore nodded, apparently quite pleased that Clemont had asked that question. "Well, Clemont, it is somewhat of a separate project, yes, but my motivations for this school, and what it may provide me with, is very relevant to my research."

"Why is that?" Meyer asked, his nervousness from a couple of moments ago quickly disappearing. "It's not like you have hundreds of key stones to give to your students, is it?"

"No, I definitely don't," Sycamore answered, laughing a little at the idea, although Clemont noticed a little bit of longing in Sycamore's eyes, as though he'd wished for that reality before. "However, this school is important to my research even if my students are unable to mega evolve their Pokemon. At least from the beginning." He paused and looked up at the ceiling, apparently imagining whatever he was thinking of was right there. He then turned his attention back to Clemont and Meyer and began to speak. "I believe that the bond that grew between Diantha and Gardevoir was intensified while they were in the old Lumiose University."

"But a bond can grow anywhere," Clemont argued, not really understanding why a school would be particularly effective in forming a strong bond. "Most people that can mega evolve their Pokemon have never gone to one of these schools."

Sycamore nodded, looking somewhat impressed by Clemont's words. "Yes, of course," he agreed, glancing at the ceiling again, a memory once again likely playing before his eyes. "However, there are still aspects of the school environment I wish to examine when it comes to this. It is perhaps age of the trainer, and their emotional development, and how it connects to the Pokemon at the time. Or, perhaps there are other factors such as battling together, working together, accomplishing dreams together. I believe this university allows students and Pokemon to grow their bond, and I'd be able to see it first hand, while also giving an opportunity to students who might not feel travelling on long journeys is their best route to their goal."

Clemont felt a big grin stretch across his face, completely entranced by what Sycamore was saying. It was _exactly_ the kind of thing he'd been hoping to do. He and his Pokemon would both work on their bond, and learn in the process. "Professor Sycamore," Clemont said, surprised that there was no nervousness or hesitation in his voice, "do you think I'd be able to sign up for Lumiose University?"

"Clemont, we'd be glad to have you," Sycamore answered, smiling as though he was hoping Clemont would ask that. "I think you have exactly what it takes, to get a degree in Pokemon."

* * *

When Serena woke up, she stared at the ceiling in her room for about twenty minutes, not even moving an inch. She'd surprisingly slept quite well, despite all that was on her mind, but she realized that maybe that was because it was all she wanted to do. She just wanted to sleep and forget that she'd screwed up a perfect chance to meet Ash Ketchum, the boy who'd rescued her so many years ago.

At first, she'd let her bitterness about the whole situation make her believe it was Shauna's fault. Serena had told herself that if she'd been on her own, she definitely would have gone to talk to Ash at the Pokemon League and figured out why he'd looked so familiar. She told herself it was only because Shauna had been teasing her that she hadn't had the courage to do so.

Then, common sense started to come back to her, and she resigned herself to the fact that it was really her own fault, if it was anyone's _fault_ at all. It wasn't like it made sense to go up to Ash in the first place. She didn't even know him that well when even remembering who he was. It was probably crazy that she was letting the whole thing get to her the way it was. She'd only met him when she was a little kid, and it wasn't even for that long. Even now, after remembering how they'd met, it didn't make much sense to still be thinking about him.

Serena took a deep breath, and then rolled over onto her side, looking at the other side of her room. She could see the closet was still slightly open after she'd not bothered to close it once finding the handkerchief. Said handkerchief was sitting on the desk, right next to the closet, and Serena sighed, unable to understand why she'd let herself get so worked up over it. Ash probably didn't remember it at all. _She'd_ barely remembered the whole thing. Under the desk, was a Bulbasaur plush toy, and Serena wondered if that was part of the reason her mind had gone to Shauna earlier on.

Serena had no idea what she was going to do with her life for the next few weeks. Months even. She felt pretty down right now, without her friends and without anything to do. She felt even worse after remembering about Ash the previous night. It was as though the world was conspiring against her to make her lonely and bored until she could start collecting her Princess Keys again.

After another couple of minutes of lying in bed, Serena managed to force herself to sit up, and she glared ahead as though looking at the image of whoever it was that was causing her to feel so worked up. She stumbled out of her bed, and wandered over to her closet to get her clothes. Once she was changed, she looked at herself in the mirror and shrugged, almost like she was looking at another person.

Looking back at her, was a girl in a light, pink dress that was over top of a grayish-black tank top with a white collar. Over her dress, was a long, red vest with very large pockets. She also had long, black stockings and brown boots, which despite the travel, had kept pretty well. As Serena looked at herself in the mirror, she finished her look off, by putting her pink-red fedora with the black hatband, on top of her honey-blonde hair.

She sighed as she continued to stare at herself. She poked at the collar of her dress, which she often tried to tie with various ribbons and string, but it was either very uncomfortable or just didn't look right. It was really the only thing about her outfit she didn't like, once she'd changed it up after her loss at the Coumarine City showcase. _Who knew one little thing could be so frustrating?_

Within a few minutes, after a bit of struggling with the collar of her dress, Serena was making her way downstairs towards the kitchen, where she could smell the breakfast her mother had prepared. As she approached the kitchen, she heard her mother speaking, and then stop a few moments later. _Probably a phone call._ When she arrived in the kitchen, she quickly sat down, while Grace was setting the table, placing the phone down before doing so. "Good morning, mom," Serena greeted, yawning as she spoke.

"Good morning," Grace answered, looking at Serena with a hint of amusement in her eyes. "What are you yawning for? I thought you were going to sleep through the next Masterclass." She narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously at her daughter. "You weren't sleeping in to avoid Rhyhorn racing were you?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "No, I just felt like lying in bed for a bit longer. Besides, I thought I didn't have to do Rhyhorn racing if I don't want to. That's what _you_ said." It was her turn to look suspiciously at her mother.

"No, you don't have to if you don't want to," Grace answered calmly, placing a couple of napkins on the table. "It wouldn't be a bad idea, though," she suggested, glancing towards the phone, and then looking out the window. "You might be able to show off a little."

Serena shook her head, not even bothering with an angry retort. "I _really_ don't want to do anymore Rhyhorn racing, mom. Can we just leave it at that?" She then glanced at the phone, just realizing that her mother had just looked at it kind of strangely. "Is something wrong? Did someone call?"

"Oh nothing's wrong," Grace assured her daughter quickly, smiling. "Nothing at all. No, it's just that I had a call from someone who said they'd be dropping by today." She looked at Serena as though the performer was aware of what her mother was talking about. When Serena looked back without any answer, Grace continued. "Do you remember that woman, Palermo, from your Masterclass showcase? The one who helped you with your hand?"

" _She's_ coming?" Serena asked, eyes widening while her heart started to pound. She hadn't mentioned to her mother that Palermo had talked to her about a special training opportunity. This could very well turn out to be quite embarrassing for her. Not only because of that, but she didn't exactly like the idea of Palermo seeing her house, either. "Why are you letting her come here? Do you want me to be Kalos Queen or not?"

Grace looked a little alarmed, clearly having expected Serena to be a bit more enthusiastic about Palermo's approaching visit. "Well it's not really like I had a choice," she managed to say, after a couple of moments of staring. "She sort of invited herself."

"And you couldn't have told her it wasn't a good time?" Serena argued, feeling a little bit of panic build up within her. It wasn't that she hated Palermo or anything, it was just that the old performance expert made her a bit uncomfortable sometimes. And considering she hadn't been able to prepare, this felt particularly worrisome to her.

"It'll be fine, Serena," Grace assured her, shaking her head in exasperation. "It can't be anything bad, right? She's spotted you as someone special. She must have a good reason for wanting to come here." She looked up at the clock in the kitchen and smiled. "She should be here any minute. She said she was fairly close to arriving."

" _What?_ " Serena shouted, eyes wider than before. "She's already coming?" The panicked performer stared at her mother, and then at the table, noticing that there were more than just the two places set for someone to eat at. "What's wrong with you?"

Grace was unable to answer Serena's question, though, as at that moment, the doorbell rang. With an apologetic look at her daughter, Grace quickly slipped out of the kitchen, making her way towards the front door. While she waited, Serena did her best to try to calm down, which wasn't easy, as she could hear her mother greeting Palermo at the door, and the not so cheery sounding voice of the old performing expert in answer.

A few moments later, there was the sound of the door closing, and Serena gulped, knowing they were both about to come to the kitchen. She took a deep breath as she heard footsteps coming down the hall, and silently wished for Palermo to have suddenly become a nice, cheerful old lady. However, when Grace led the older woman into the kitchen, Serena immediately noticed the familiar scowl on Palermo's face.

"Good morning, Serena," Palermo greeted, not even a hint of emotion in her voice. She glanced around the kitchen a moment, and then sat down, looking at Serena, not even blinking.

Palermo seemed to be waiting for something, and Serena quickly realized that she hadn't answered yet. "Oh...um...good morning. It's...nice to see you again. Even though it's...unexpected."

"Well, I was close by. I'm on my way to Lumiose City today. I have some business to discuss with Professor Sycamore," Palermo explained, adjusting her seat, looking as though she was uncomfortable with a "normal" chair. She finally stopped, and then looked seriously at Serena. "In fact, that's why I wanted to talk to you today. I thought these visits would be worth combining."

"Why is that?" Serena asked, glancing at her mother, who was now sitting down, looking just as confused as Serena felt. She turned back to Palermo, a puzzled expression on her face. Why would she have anything to do with Palermo visiting Professor Sycamore? And on another note, it seemed pretty weird that Palermo was visiting Professor Sycamore in the first place.

"Well, I've been working on a bit of a project with Professor Sycamore," Palermo started, raising her eyebrows a little as she started to speak. "I wasn't too interested at first, I'll admit. Even now, I must say it's a little silly. However, I do actually see some value in it." She glanced at her watch, almost like _she_ was the uncomfortable one and wanted to leave. "I've seen some very good performers come out of some of these programs, and I believe that if a talented and determined young performer such as yourself were to participate, you could do great things."

Serena shrugged, letting curiosity take over for the nervousness she had felt before. She supposed it helped that Palermo had just complimented her for her talent and determination. "I don't understand. What programs are you talking about?"

When Palermo smiled, Serena was a little taken aback, and barely stopped herself from jumping up in alarm. "Have you ever heard of a Pokemon university?" she asked, watching Serena closely. Serena shook her head. She knew what a university was, of course, but she had no clue what a Pokemon one would be about, other than the obvious fact that it would include Pokemon. "I suppose you wouldn't have, considering you're from a smaller town, and the one that would've been closest to you hasn't been opened for many years." She waved her hand, signalling none of that mattered to her. "Well, a Pokemon university is just that. A university specifically targeted to teach students about the world of Pokemon."

"That sounds interesting," Serena commented, imagining a lecture hall filled with a bunch of students and Pokemon. She wondered if it would get kind of messy, but assumed that the schools had some kind of system in place to avoid being overcrowded from all the Pokemon.

"Oh yes, they are quite interesting, I'll admit," Palermo concurred, nodding. "They are also quite valuable in progressing their students as not only trainers, but people in general. Aria was at one for a couple of years, and I believe it did wonders for her career. Unfortunately she was too popular to continue, and had to drop out, due to the increasing amount of media attention she had." Palermo sighed, and looked at Serena with narrowed eyes, as though testing her. Serena managed to steel herself, and looked right back, refusing to back down. Finally, Palermo spoke again. "I've been helping Professor Sycamore plan a new university in Lumiose City. I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for you."

 **Author's Note:**

I know...the buildup is soooooo slow. At least with what I'm used to. I am determined not to rush this, though. Like I said, I want this story to be really good, and rushing stuff is not good. Well, definitely not for what I'm doing anyways. Don't worry, though. The school is close.

Before I forget, I think I should address something. No, there will be no love triangle. I know there was a bit of temptation to do one of those in GCTO, but I've learned since then. There are other ways to have drama and romance, and I've got some ideas. I suppose this news either terrifies you or excites you. Don't worry, just read on, good people. There is still so much that's going to happen.

Ah...and one more thing. Looks like Greninja is going bye bye in the anime. He's sticking around for this story as I put too much into planning to have him in it, so no need to speculate on that. So...we sort of get to still have Greninja.

Anyways, goodbye for now. I hope to get the Bonnie chapter up soon, but I was inspired to write more for this at the moment. Keep the early criticism coming if you've got some, and if you don't I won't complain if you send more of your lovely compliments that definitely keep me inspired to write more.


	4. An Old Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

To those of you who read the Bonnie fic, I'm really sorry. I'm overworked and I'm kind of stuck on the next chapter so it's just moving really slowly. I'll do my best to get that done soon, but I need to stop making promises I can't keep.

Anyways, this story and this chapter. The buildup is slow, but we're almost there to the school. After this chapter we'll have one more and then I think the school will start. We've got a time skip here. I think it works fine, but let me know if it's too jarring. Without further ado, chapter 4.

 **Chapter 4: An Old Rivalry**

Clemont felt pretty satisfied with himself as he sat back in his chair and looked upon the work he had just finished. It had been a long month of work since Professor Sycamore had requested his assistance and Clemont had done his job well. He'd immediately set up a simple website for the university and a recruitment system to identify possible students in not only Kalos but in other regions as well. It was simple to do, as most trainers were logged in various Pokemon researchers' Pokedex systems and their potential interest could be seen due to their battle, contest and/or performance activity.

It had only taken a couple of weeks once Clemont had begun the entire process, and then the applications had begun to pour in. Clemont had been completely stunned by the initial response from potential students, but Professor Sycamore had explained that it actually made quite a bit of sense.

"Many of the other schools will have closed their registration by now," he had explained, while the two of them had been going over some of the applications. "If students were either unable to apply or were rejected, this is one of their last options." He had paused at that point and stood up straighter, smiling a little smugly. "And, I suppose, with my name being associated with the school, people are a little more interested than they might be normally."

Clemont couldn't deny that it was definitely a more popular idea than he'd originally thought it would be. He had expected there to be a decent response with the convenience of the school being located in Lumiose City and with a knowledgeable staff likely being involved. He just didn't think this many people, hundreds at this point, would be interested in a school that seemed to be popping up last minute.

 _Does any of that matter, though?_ Clemont asked himself, staring up at the ceiling while he attempted to relax for a moment after all his work. _We're making such good progress and all I ever do is wonder how. Maybe I should just be happy it's all working out._

Footsteps were suddenly heard from the hallway outside the office that Clemont was in and then a moment later, there was a knock on the door. Clemont turned around, the light of the computers in the room flashing through his glasses and into his eyes uncomfortably for a moment. After a couple of blinks, he looked up again, and saw Professor Sycamore standing at the doorway, looking excitedly at him. "Well, Clemont," the Pokemon researcher started, "how's your project going? If you don't mind, I'd really like to know what it is. I should make sure it fits into the school before you do too much work on it."

Clemont scratched the back of his head a little nervously when Sycamore said that. He had been keeping the project he'd been working on a secret, hoping it would be a good surprise for Sycamore and the other researchers working on the school. However, he hadn't anticipated that it might not fit in with the school or what Sycamore's other plans were. "Oh...I probably should have thought about that before, huh?"

"Don't worry too much, Clemont," Sycamore encouraged, walking forward and sliding a chair over to sit next to the young inventor at the computer. "You've been doing excellent work this past month and I am very grateful. I hope you know that your tuition is completely covered for your time at Lumiose University. You've earned it."

"Oh...well..." Clemont didn't know how to respond to that, as he'd never been one to accept that kind of charity. However, he knew how much university could cost, and he was aware that his dad had been doing a lot of extra work in preparation to help pay for it. He still felt awkward about accepting the offer, though. Partly because of his own uneasiness about accepting, and also because he knew his father would be too proud to accept.

"It's payment for both you and your father's work," Sycamore said quickly, obviously taking note of Clemont's hesitation and uneasiness. "You've both done a lot of work for me and haven't asked for anything in return. It's the least I could do."

Clemont still felt a little awkward about the whole thing, but decided he wouldn't push the subject right now. Instead, he gave Sycamore a grateful smile, and then gestured to the computer in front of them. "Um...how about I show you what I've been working on. I think it'll be useful for the opening of the school and could be useful for any future students." He quickly typed something on the keyboard, and then clicked around with his mouse a few times, before a window popped up on screen with an image that looked a lot like Clembot. "As you know, I've done a lot of research with Clembot lately and he's been a large project for a couple of years now." He pointed underneath the image of Clembot, to what looked like five white stars. When he moved the cursor over each star and clicked, they would fill in gold, and Clembot's position would change. "You said that there will be varying class levels for students, right?" Clemont asked, turning to look at Sycamore, who was staring at the screen in amazement.

"Yes, that's correct," Sycamore answered, nodding quickly, his head whipping up and down. Clemont was happy that the Pokemon researcher seemed to be happy with the work he'd done so far, despite not knowing the full extent of it. "I'm hoping for three different levels. Beginner, intermediate and expert. I know that there will be a wide variety of trainers and I don't want them to fall behind or hold others back."

"Well, then this invention should be a success!" Clemont exclaimed confidently, starting to feel like this could be one of his best inventions yet. "I've done a lot of work with Clembot to make him capable of adapting to a trainer's skill level. I have to limit it somewhat for gym battles to make it fair, but I believe I've done enough so that I can have him even adapt to a level beyond that of not only myself, but many of the more advanced trainers out there, depending on the Pokemon he is able to use."

Sycamore nodded, although his eyes were a little cloudy. He was clearly still a little lost on what Clemont was trying to say. "Alright, so are you saying we could change Clembot's skill level?" he asked, looking at the screen. Clemont followed the researcher's gaze, and saw him looking at the stars underneath the Clembot image.

"Exactly," Clemont confirmed, pointing at the stars on screen. "See, what I was thinking, is that when new students arrive at the school, they could participate in screening battles to test out what level of classes they should be taking. I can even adapt Clembot's programming for judging performances and for having contest battles. I'll need to go over the requirements for each and maybe get some help from Palermo, but it shouldn't be too hard. Other than that, he can be used for simple battles right away."

"Marvellous!" Sycamore shouted, clapping as he leaned forward to get a better look. "So, what kind of rating system were you thinking of?"

"Well," Clemont started, moving the mouse over to click on the first star, then the second, "I was thinking half a star to two stars would be the beginner class." He then moved the mouse to three stars, clicked a button and then half a star was filled in. "Then, two and a half stars to three and a half stars would be intermediate." Finally, he clicked the fourth star and then the fifth star. "And expert trainers would need a four to five star rating."

Sycamore nodded, seemingly accepting the rating scale. "That's excellent work, Clemont. I'll be sure to get you all the information you need so that we can have this set up to work for the performers and coordinators we'll have at the school." He paused for a moment, a smile growing on his face. "This will be an excellent teaching method I think. Even for you, if it is truly able to adapt beyond your own skills as a trainer."

"Well, Clembot learns from what other trainers do, depending on how predictable they are," Clemont explained, mind going to the struggle he'd been having with inputting data on Ash's battles. "It depends how you would want to use him."

"I can't reveal all of your lessons right now, Clemont," Sycamore told the young inventor in a joking manner. "Let's just say if Clembot can be programmed to use basic strategies for demonstrations, I think he'd be perfect for in class exercises."

Clemont nodded, somewhat getting the idea. It made sense if Sycamore would need to use a something like this for demonstrations in a class. If they were learning about Pokemon, they'd have to get some actual experience with how they worked. Clemont assumed this was more for the lower level classes, though. There was only so much he could program Clembot to do.

"Well, that's probably enough for today, Clemont," Sycamore finally said, after glancing over some of the notes Clemont had made for his Clembot work. "You've definitely done some great work here. It probably won't be easy to get it all in place for a month from now, but I think at the pace we're moving, we should be able to do it."

 _A month,_ Clemont thought to himself, feeling his heart beat a little faster. He'd known it would start at around that time, but it still seemed to be moving awfully fast. He couldn't believe he'd be going to a school in a month. It really seemed quite odd, considering he'd been such a large part of setting up the very school he'd be attending. However, he knew that despite all the work he'd done, there was definitely a lot he had to learn in this school. _Besides, there's more than just Pokemon facts and science that I need to learn. I need to learn how to be a better trainer in other ways._

After saying a quick goodbye to Professor Sycamore, Clemont got up and made his way out of the office that had been somewhat of a second home to him over the last month. As he walked down the hallway, he passed Cosette, a magenta-haired woman who was one of Professor Sycamore's assistants and also set to be one of the teachers at the school along with Sophie and whoever else Sycamore had asked to join. She nodded at Clemont, obviously too busy to talk, but wanting to show that she appreciated the work he was doing. He returned the nod, and then continued walking, passing an interested look over at some of the work Sophie was doing with Professor Sycamore's Garchomp, a key stone in her hand. He would've stayed to watch, but knew it was probably better to get home, and kept moving.

Once Clemont reached the door of the lab, he took a deep breath and then stepped outside. He embraced the feeling of fresh air that had become too unfamiliar with all the time spent in either his own workshop or Sycamore's lab. He'd been working a lot lately, and he knew he probably shouldn't be doing so much. _It's kind of fun, though,_ Clemont admitted to himself, as he took his glasses off and wiped the lenses clean, while walking down the steps from the lab's entrance and onto the sidewalk. _I do enjoy working on my inventions and this school is definitely going to be pretty interesting._

Once Clemont was on the sidewalk, which was fairly empty at this time, he looked over towards where Prism Tower was. He thought of all the work he'd done on Clembot there and even all the gym battles he and Clembot had fought there. He'd done a lot to improve himself, and he knew there was still more he had to do. But for now, maybe should head home. It _was_ time to take a break...although...maybe a quick trip to Prism Tower wouldn't hurt.

* * *

Serena was currently walking down a surprisingly empty street in Lumiose City as she searched for Shauna, who she had planned to meet here, today. It had been a long month without her friend, but Serena's patience had been rewarded a couple of days ago when Shauna had called her to say she'd be going to Lumiose City for the day, and had asked if Serena had wanted to meet up, since she was so close, living in Vaniville Town. Serena had instantly agreed, and had been looking forward to it for the past couple of days.

It had been a long month where Serena had surprisingly been very busy, after not expecting to have had much to do. Once Palermo had made her visit and made her proposal that Serena participate in the brand new Lumiose University, the young performer had quickly grown to like the idea. She'd been hesitant at first, when Palermo had suggested it, but after a few days of thinking about it, Serena realized it was actually a pretty good opportunity. She could keep her focus on performing, learn more about Pokemon and probably make a lot more friends. After all that time being lonely and thinking about her missed opportunity with Ash, she liked having something else on her mind.

Of course, today she was a little worried about telling Shauna. The two of them had been planning to travel a bit more together once showcases started up again. They obviously weren't going to travel everywhere together, but considering Tierno and Trevor were probably planning on competing in other leagues, it was going to be a good way to keep in touch more often. _Now I have to tell her I plan on going to a school. What is she going to think of that?_

"Serena! Serena, over here!" A glance across the street showed just where the voice was coming from. Serena laughed a little as she noticed a blond haired guy with glasses in a blue jumpsuit walking past Shauna. He looked a little startled at the enthusiasm she was showing and jumped back, while trying to put on his backpack, when she started waving her arms around wildly to Serena, despite the latter having noticed her.

Serena took a quick look in both directions, before crossing the street, and as she crossed, she noticed the blond guy trip over something as he made his way around Shauna, falling over it, his backpack dropping to the ground. By the time she got across, Serena noticed the embarrassed Shauna helping him up, pulling away a shopping bag she had put in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Serena asked, quickly running over as the guy who'd fallen managed to get to his feet. He was rubbing his elbow, looking quite uncomfortable with the whole situation. He looked like he wanted to get mad, but was uncomfortable with doing so.

"I'm sorry!" Shauna yelled, looking uncomfortably at Serena, seemingly pleading with the latter to get her out of the mess she'd gotten into. "I didn't know I'd put my bag there. I was just trying to get my friend's attention."

"It's fine," the boy said, brushing off his clothes from the dust that had gotten on them. "I guess I wasn't really looking where I was going anyways," he muttered, glancing up at Shauna, smiling a little, any anger that had been in his eyes a moment earlier now gone.

Shauna still looked embarrassed and Serena could tell she still felt pretty bad about the whole situation, even though it looked like it wasn't that big a deal anymore. "Are you sure you're alright? It was kind of a hard fall."

The boy nodded and held his hands up in front of him, signalling Shauna didn't need to go on anymore. "Yeah, it's alright." He leaned down and picked up his backpack which had opened up a little once it had fallen to the ground along with its owner. A paper was sticking out of the top, and Serena could just see a title at the top of it.

"Does that say 'Lumiose University' on it?" Serena asked, taking a step forward and leaning down to take a closer look. There was no mistaking it. The paper seemed to be some kind of blueprint for something, but at the top of it were the words, 'Lumiose University'. "Are you going there?"

"Um...yeah, I am," the boy said, stuffing the paper further in his bag, closing it up and then shouldering it as he stood straighter. "Professor Sycamore asked me to help out with designing a few things for it, but I also plan on going when it starts up next month."

"Wait...what are you talking about?" Shauna asked, looking and sounding completely confused. Serena cursed herself for not realizing what she'd just done. How was she going to explain how she knew about Lumiose University?

The boy then turned to Shauna, nodding and looking happy enough to talk about the school. "Lumiose University is a new Pokemon school that Professor Sycamore is starting up here in Lumiose City. It's going to help people learn about Pokemon and even improve their skills in areas like battling, coordinating and performing." He then paused and seemed to peer closer at Shauna, leaning forward a bit. Then, his gaze went to Serena and he did the same. His eyes then widened and he suddenly looked very nervous. "Wait a minute!" he shouted, head moving back and forth as he looked at each girl back and forth. "Weren't you two in the Masterclass? My sister was watching that on TV and I'm sure there were two girls that looked like you two."

Serena smiled as she noticed Shauna smirk and stand up a bit straighter. She wasn't cocky about her successes in her showcases, but she did like being noticed from time to time. "Yeah," she said, holding her hand out to the boy. She pointed to herself with her free hand while they shook hands. "I'm Shauna," she announced with a smile. She then gestured to Serena, while the boy turned towards her. As Serena shook hands with him, Shauna introduced her. "And this is Serena. She ended up facing off against the Kalos Queen, Aria in the finals."

"Oh wow," the boy almost shouted, looking impressed as he and Serena ended their handshake. "Wow, that's really impressive." His eyes then widened and he blushed, looking embarrassed. "Oh, sorry, I'm Clemont by the way. I'm the Lumiose City Gym Leader." He then pointed to his backpack, where his blueprint was. "That's part of why I'm going to Professor Sycamore's university. I'm hoping I can become a better gym leader."

 _A gym leader?_ Serena thought, feeling a little confused. She had to admit, this guy, Clemont, didn't really seem like the gym leader type. She'd met a few gym leaders before and they often seemed to appear far more confident and composed than this guy seemed to be. _Wait...the Lumiose City Gym...isn't that the one with the robot?_ "Shauna, didn't Tierno say that he battled a robot when he came here for his gym battle?"

Before Shauna could answer, Clemont spoke up quickly. "Yeah, he probably did battle a robot. That would be Clembot." He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "I built him to fill in for me when I got busy with other inventions and had other work to do. And...I guess really when I just didn't feel like doing it. Sometimes I'm just not happy with the work I do. I feel like I make the gym look bad."

"Oh, I get it." Serena felt a bit bad for bringing up the robot thing now. She didn't want Clemont to think she'd assumed he'd been lying about being the gym leader. She realized that it had kind of seemed like she'd been claiming that. She quickly tried to come up with something to change the subject. "So...are your inventions part of why Professor Sycamore wanted you to help with his university?"

"Yeah," Clemont answered, nodding and allowing his nerves to once again depart while he allowed himself to feel proud of what he was doing. "Professor Sycamore wanted me to help with setting up registration and recruiting programs. Most of that is done now and we've already had applications pour in from all over the place. We're going to be ready to go when the school year starts next month."

"I'm still kind of confused about all this," Shauna suddenly said, and Serena quickly sensed that she was going to have some explaining to do, as Shauna's gaze quickly went to her. "How is it that _you_ know about this Lumiose University?" she asked.

Serena bit her lip nervously, and noticed both Clemont and Shauna were looking at her expectantly, both of them clearly confused about why she would know about this. "Well...um...I was hoping to talk to you about this later, Shauna. It's kind of a lot to explain, really."

Clemont seemed to have it figured out, though, because he smiled and then pointed at Serena. "You're going, aren't you? I'll bet you're going to train for performing." A doubtful expression then came to his face and he raised his eyebrows. "I don't understand why you'd _need_ more training though. If you came that close to being Kalos Queen, why would you need to go to a school?"

"Yeah, that's a good question," Shauna said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Why _do_ you need to go to this school, Serena?"

Serena sighed, giving Clemont a look in an attempt to signal that this conversation should be private, but he seemed clueless about the whole thing and just continued to wait for an answer. She did her best to ignore the Lumiose Gym Leader, and turned her attention to Shauna. "Well, it was about Palermo's offer for special training. She thinks this school will be a good opportunity for me. Not just for performing skills, but also for making me a better trainer overall. It'll probably help me just become a better person, I think."

"Wait a second," Clemont suddenly whispered, looking back and forth between Serena and Shauna, smiling as his head went each way. "Shauna, if you're interested in performing as well, I don't see why you can't join in. I think Professor Sycamore would love to have you as well. Serena's not the only person joining who's interested in performing. In fact, there are lots of performers who have applied. I bet you two would instantly make the Lumiose University performing team for the Interschool Pokemon League an instant favourite to win."

Serena's eyes widened with excitement. She had to admit, it was a perfect idea, and she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it herself. Of course it would make perfect sense! She and Shauna would probably be able to spend even _more_ time together. They'd be able to continue performing, just as they each loved to do, and they'd also be able to learn more about Pokemon together. Really, it was probably better than if they had stuck to their original plan of continuing their Princess Keys quests. "What do you think, Shauna?" she asked, eyes lighting up. She could see Shauna was thinking hard about it. Serena understood the doubt, even though right now it seemed like an easy choice to her. Shauna was probably thinking about all the things Serena had thought about. It wasn't easy to give up on all the travelling like that. However, a big smile slowly came to Shauna's face, and Serena knew that the answer she was hoping for was coming.

"Well," Shauna said, putting her hands on her hips and looking out towards where Prism Tower was poking out above the buildings and high into the sky, "it does sound like an interesting opportunity. I should probably think about it a little more. I need to make sure I can afford it." She smirked at Serena and gave a quick wink, signalling that her answer was pretty much decided already. "You know what," she whispered, putting a finger to her chin as she thought for a moment, "I think Trevor and Tierno might be interested in this as well." She looked at Clemont expectantly. "You said battling is part of the program at this school, right?"

"Yeah," Clemont exclaimed, looking excited. Serena could tell he was more than happy to get as many more possible students for the university. "That'd be really good for the battling team if they joined up. Anyone with gym battle experience would be very welcome at the school, from what Professor Sycamore has told me."

Serena was suddenly feeling very excited about the future of this school. If she and Shauna were able to convince Tierno and Trevor that they should go to the school, it was already going to be a better experience. Even if it was just Shauna that went, Serena was happy. She could barely wait for school to start! _I never thought I'd be excited for something like this._

* * *

"Oh wow, Goodra is quite an impressive Pokemon, isn't he?" Professor Oak cooed, while he examined the large, purple and white dragon type's slimy arms. "It's quite a shame that I won't have much time to do much more research with him. We get along famously."

Dawn looked over from where she was sitting with Piplup underneath a small tree just outside the lab, while they watched Ash and Professor Oak working with his Pokemon. She remembered Ash mentioning he was going to have to send Goodra back to a place in the Kalos region, and she could tell the reminder didn't sit well with him. "Yeah, I'm really gonna miss Goodra," he said, smiling up at the dragon type as he walked towards it. "Goodra, I really appreciate you helping me out at the Kalos League. You did a great job. I hope you'll be able to use all that strength you showed, to help your friends back at the Wetlands."

"Goo! Goodra!" Goodra shouted, shaking his arms happily, shooting out some slime that hit Professor Oak in the face as he did so. The old Pokemon professor wasn't angered by it, though, instead wiping it off and pulling out a magnifying glass to examine the slime.

Dawn felt a little uneasy as she watched Ash talking with Goodra, reminiscing about their journey together. Over the last month, she'd really enjoyed her time with Ash, Professor Oak and Delia. They'd spent a lot of time with Ash's Pokemon and helping Professor Oak out with various research tasks. It had been exactly the kind of break from contests Dawn had been hoping to have when she'd set off for Pallet Town. However, she knew that she had to be setting off for Twinleaf Town pretty soon. As much as she and Ash probably didn't want to admit it, they'd started to get along really well after that first meeting, so she felt bad that she'd be leaving at about the same time that Ash would be having to say goodbye to Goodra. The worst part was that she hadn't even mentioned it yet.

"Oh Ash!" Professor Oak suddenly shouted, snapping Dawn out of her depressed thoughts. She glanced towards the Pokemon professor, noticing he was now standing a little ways away from Goodra, sliding a notebook into his pocket. He looked up, as Ash turned his attention away from Goodra. "I thought you should know that Gary will be coming by today. It's been a long time since you've seen him hasn't it?"

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, doing a little fist pump, and looking up at Pikachu on his shoulder. "We haven't seen Gary since we were in Sinnoh. Maybe he'll have a battle with us." He turned his head and Dawn followed his gaze towards an open area in front of Oak's lab, where Greninja and Hawlucha were sparring. "I bet Gary might be able to help me show you Ash-Greninja, Professor Oak."

Dawn felt herself tense up in excitement and looked over to see that Professor Oak was probably feeling the same thing. Ever since Ash had mentioned the strange transformation his Greninja could perform, she'd instantly been interested, and she'd known Professor Oak was likely even more interested, considering it was likely one of the rarest research opportunities someone like him could get.

"Oh yes, I would definitely like to see that," Professor Oak concurred, nodding and then looking behind him, apparently hoping this guy, Gary was already on his way. "It was definitely a shame when he couldn't perform the transformation when you battled Dawn a few days ago. I really thought that all he needed was a few weeks rest."

Dawn shifted uncomfortably in her spot, sliding down a bit and avoiding eye contact with Piplup who looked a little guilty. The two of them had done their best in battle with Ash and Greninja, but it had ended pretty quickly. Even without it's special Ash-Greninja form, it still seemed to be extraordinarily strong. Piplup really didn't have any chance, and was defeated with a quick Cut attack followed by a Double Team and Water Shuriken combination. _Obviously he needs to be fighting a capable opponent as well,_ Dawn thought to herself, hating how easily she'd been beaten that day, after thinking she'd been making some really good progress with her battling skills while training with Ash.

"I don't get it," Ash said, scratching his head while he thought, looking at Greninja and then moving his gaze over to Dawn and Piplup. "Dawn and Piplup hit Greninja pretty good a couple of times there, and usually that's when Greninja and I really get into a battle." He sighed and glanced down at the ground. "Maybe we lost our chance. Maybe the Kalos League was our last chance to really use that form."

Dawn looked over to Piplup, narrowing her eyes in confusion. She didn't exactly remember Piplup backing Greninja into a corner, but regardless, the other things Ash was saying didn't make much sense either. "Why would it have been your last chance?" she asked, standing up and brushing a bit of dirt off of her skirt as she did so.

"Everything's just felt really different since I lost the Kalos League," Ash explained, his shoulders sagging a little. For the first time since Dawn had met him a month ago, she could see the true disappointment he'd felt. She realized that he must have been so focused on his training with her, that he'd allowed himself to forget the disappointment of his own setbacks. Dawn didn't know if she should have felt grateful or guilty about that. Maybe feeling both was acceptable. "I've had fun training with you, but I can tell there's something different when I'm battling. It just feels strange."

"Maybe you just need a stronger opponent," Dawn suggested jokingly, winking at Piplup so he knew she wasn't insulting him. "I'm not exactly the best trainer in the world, you know."

Ash shook his head. "You're a great trainer. You and Piplup did better than you think." He looked up at the sky, and Dawn got the impression he was visualizing his Kalos League Final match. He then seemed to tense up and looked straight ahead, a flash of determination coming to his face. "We _have_ to make it work. Gary can help us," he finally said, glancing up as a door opened a few feet away from where Greninja and Hawlucha were sparring. Ash's face instantly lit up and he started running over, as a guy with spiky, brown hair, dressed in a black shirt and blue pants came out of the lab. "And look who it is!" Ash shouted happily.

"Huh? Oh hey, Ashy boy!" Gary exclaimed, initially looking startled as Ash ran towards him, but then smiling widely and reaching out his hand. They quickly shook hands and then Gary's eyes scanned the area around them, resting on each of the Kalos Pokemon, Professor Oak and then Dawn. "Well, looks like I've got a lot to catch up on." He smirked at Ash, or Ashy boy as he apparently called him. _I'm gonna remember that one,_ Dawn thought with a smirk. "Alright Ashy boy, how about you introduce me to your new Pokemon and your...um...friend." _I really hope he wasn't about to say what I think he was going to say._ Dawn just decided to ignore it and started walking over with Piplup, noticing Professor Oak and the rest of Ash's Kalos Pokemon doing the same.

"Well," Ash started, once everyone had come over to stand near him and Gary, "there's definitely a lot to catch up on." He gestured to his Kalos Pokemon, who were now lined up next to him, oddly arranged by height, with Pikachu at one end and Goodra at the other. "These are all the Pokemon I caught in Kalos. Goodra, Noivern, Greninja, Hawlucha and Talonflame. And obviously you remember Pikachu from before."

Gary looked at the Pokemon with wide, interested eyes. "Wow, no wonder you made it to the finals with them as your team." He looked over to Professor Oak, curiosity apparent on his face. "Hey Gramps, have you been getting any good information on them? You haven't seen many Kalos Pokemon before."

"Oh yes, indeed I have," Oak assured his grandson. "Yes, my research has all gone quite well. Unfortunately we won't have much more of a chance to research with Goodra, as he's returning to Kalos fairly soon to take care of some wild Pokemon there, but we've still been able to do quite a bit. I've also been able to see how they work in battle, as our new friend here, Dawn, is visiting from Sinnoh and has been doing some training with Ash."

"Right, sorry," Ash said quickly, giving a sheepish grin. He gestured to Dawn and then to Gary. "Gary, this is Dawn and Dawn, this is Gary. Gary and I were rivals for a long time," Ash explained, looking at Dawn, appearing completely different from his doubtful self from a couple of minutes ago. "He was always ahead of me for badges and catching Pokemon, and he would give me a pretty rough time with all that. But we're good friends now and Gary's interested in being a Pokemon researcher."

Dawn opened her mouth in surprise. She couldn't ever imagine becoming a researcher herself, after all the hard work she'd put into her training and after all the exciting battles and contests she'd had. She wondered how someone could change from such an exciting battling life to one of research. Although, she supposed she was doing that somewhat with the break she was taking. _Maybe it does actually make sense. Battles can get kind of stressful after all._ "It's nice to meet you, Gary," she finally greeted, holding out her hand and shaking his. "So do you work with Professor Oak a lot?"

"Yeah I help him out from time to time," Gary answered with a smirk. "Of course, sometimes Gramps likes to do things his own way." He looked at Dawn quizzically, narrowing his eyes with interest. "So...what kind of help have _you_ been giving Gramps?" He turned around and eyed Ash in a similar way. "Has Dawn been winning all of your battles? You did seem to have gone soft the last time you and I battled, Ashy boy. Maybe Gramps is seeing that your Kalos League success was just a fluke."

Ash narrowed his eyes and held a fist up in front of him. For a moment, Dawn thought he was about to punch Gary, but then he just smiled confidently and gestured to his Pokemon. "How about a battle, Gary? You can see what we've been showing Professor Oak all this time." Then, he looked over to Greninja, who was eyeing Gary carefully. "And maybe you'll see even more than that."

Gary followed Ash's gaze towards Greninja, and then turned his attention back to Ash. His eyes were shining with excitement and Dawn realized that maybe his battling passion hadn't exactly left him just yet. "You're on, Ashy boy. And don't think I'm a pushover because I'm a researcher now." He pulled out a pokeball and held it up in front of him. "I'm stronger than ever."

Dawn felt her heart rate increase a little bit as she watched the two of them. She had a feeling she was about to see a truly great battle. _This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to see._

* * *

"This will be a two on two battle between Ash and Gary," Professor Oak announced, holding up two arms and gesturing to the two Pallet Town trainers on either side of him. Ash on his left and Gary on his right. "Once both Pokemon for one trainer are unable to battle, the other trainer will be declared the winner. Do you both agree?"

"You bet, Gramps!" Gary shouted confidently, holding up a pokeball as he prepared to start the battle.

"I'm ready too," Ash added, giving a thumbs up to Dawn who standing a couple feet away from Oak, a few steps back. "Hopefully you can get some ideas from this battle," Ash told her, knowing that if Gary was indeed telling the truth about being stronger than ever, Dawn would definitely be seeing some good battle skills.

"Just don't beat Gary with two hits," Dawn joked, before looking guiltily at her frustrated Piplup standing next to her.

"I'll start things off!" Gary announced, pulling back his arm, and then thrusting it forward, before releasing his pokeball into the air. After shooting out a few feet, it opened up, and then a bright light flashed, before a black, four-legged Pokemon with long, pointed ears and red eyes emerged. On its tail, ears and sides, there seemed to be yellow rings, which stood out clearly on the black fur.

 _His Umbreon, huh?_ Ash thought to himself, as he heard Dawn scanning it with her Pokedex. He knew he was going to have a disadvantage with speed, but Ash still wanted to give Professor Oak and Gary a chance to see Goodra in action. He pulled out his designated pokeball and then threw it forward. "Goodra, I choose you!" he shouted, as the light flashed, and then the large, purple and white dragon type emerged. Ash heard Oak gasp excitedly and knew he'd made the Pokemon professor happy with his choice. _It's good for me, too,_ Ash thought. _One more fight together before sending Goodra back._

As soon as Professor Oak signalled to start the match, Gary was quick to take advantage of Umbreon's speed advantage. "Umbreon, hit Goodra with Quick Attack, right away!" he shouted, pointing ahead and putting one foot forward as he did so.

"Breon!" Umbreon shouted, lowering the front of its body and then kicking off hard with its back legs. It shot forward, looking almost like a moving shadow as it moved, and within a second, its body was slamming hard into Goodra, causing the dragon type to groan in pain as it staggered back.

"Not bad, Gary," Ash admitted, tensing up already from the excitement of getting to battle Gary once again. "Not good enough, though. Goodra use Ice Beam, now!"

As Umbreon leaped backwards after striking Goodra, it was completely open to the dragon's attack. "Dra!" Goodra shouted, rearing his head back and then thrusting it forward, the sparking blue energy shooting out in a line towards Umbreon. It struck the moonlight Pokemon hard in the shoulder and sent crashing hard to the ground. Immediately, an icy patch started to form on its body, going from its shoulder and down its front right leg.

Gary wasn't fazed by the attack, though, despite it immediately taking away his speed advantage. He had a counter strategy ready to use right away. "Umbreon, use Double Team!" Ash narrowed his eyes as he saw the doubles quickly start to shoot up, circling Goodra in an instant. He had to admit, it was a clever move, and it made freezing Umbreon's leg seem almost pointless.

 _Almost pointless...but not quite,_ Ash told himself confidently. "Alright, Goodra, let's use your size. Jump on the ground and shake it. Gary, Professor Oak and Dawn, all gasped as Goodra's massive form lowered itself and then leaped up a couple of feet into the air. When he landed, the ground did, indeed, shake, and Ash instantly noticed that only one of the Umbreon copies reacted, even if minimally. He knew that Goodra would have noticed too. "Hit it with Dragon Pulse!" Ash shouted, punching the air in triumph.

"GooooDRA!" Goodra roared, once again pulling his head back and then thrusting it forward, unleashing the shining, purple dragon-shaped attack that launched towards one of the Umbreon shapes in front of him. It moved so quickly that the already slowed Umbreon couldn't move away fast enough, and in an instant, the attack was exploding on contact with the moonlight Pokemon, shooting up smoke, before the black shape that was Umbreon could be seen soaring back towards Gary, rolling over a few times before coming to a stop.

For a moment, Ash thought they'd one, but then Umbreon managed to struggle to its feet, ready to give it one last go. Ash could see that Gary was surprised by Goodra's quick strikes and clearly hadn't anticipated the jumping technique. "Wow, Ashy boy, it definitely looks like it wasn't a fluke you made it to the finals. Goodra's awesome!"

"Thanks," Ash said, giving the proud looking Goodra a thumbs up. "Goodra's worked really hard to become a lot stronger ever since he was a little Goomy. It's definitely paid off."

"Well let's see how he deals with this," Gary shouted, nodding to Umbreon as it stood up straighter, ready to battle. "Umbreon, use Dark Pulse!"

"Counter it with Ice Beam!" Ash ordered, quickly, noticing that Umbreon still had its leg frozen. _We just need to land one more Dragon Pulse and this one is over._

Both Pokemon took deep breaths, holding their heads back, and then thrust them forward, unleashing a swirling purple and black jet from one side and a sparking blue beam from the other. The attacks rocketed towards each other, and then exploded on contact in the middle of the field, shooting up smoke, making Ash lose sight of both Umbreon and Gary on the other side.

Gary was quick to use the smoke to his advantage, obviously knowing that Umbreon's speed was hindered from the ice on its leg. "Umbreon, hide in the smoke, and then use Dark Pulse when you're ready."

Ash was smarter than that, though, and had a plan to easily counteract this. "Goodra, use Rain Dance and clear that smoke away." Goodra was quick to obey, tensing up his body and then roaring into the sky and holding up his arms. Within seconds, the bright, sunny sky was immediately hidden by dark clouds, at least in their immediate surroundings. After a brief moment of everyone staring up at the dark clouds, drops of rain began to fall, and pretty soon it was a heavy downpour, causing Dawn to curse at Ash for not warning her. He ignored her complaints about her hair getting wet, and noticed that a wind was coming from Goodra's rainstorm, and it was quickly blowing away the smoke in the middle of the field. He immediately noticed Umbreon off to the side, the purple and black energy from its Dark Pulse prepared in its jaws. "Goodra, Dragon Pulse now!" Ash shouted, pointing at Umbreon quickly.

As Umbreon fired off its attack, Goodra managed to move with surprising agility. He ducked low, letting the swirling purple and black energy shoot off into the air behind him and Ash, and then he stood up straight, ready to fire off his own attack. A second later, the shining, purple dragon-shaped attack emerged from Goodra's jaws and launched forward, as he shouted, "DRA!" It struck Umbreon hard, and sent it flying back, where it landed hard behind Professor Oak and Dawn. This time, it didn't get up.

"Umbreon is unable to battle. Goodra is the winner!" Professor Oak announced, waving his hand towards Ash.

"Awesome! Great job, Goodra!" Ash congratulated his dragon type. "Just what I'd expect from a strong Pokemon like you."

"Goo-goodra!" Goodra shouted happily, spraying water and slime off of his arms as he waved them around.

As Gary went over to check on Umbreon, and recall it to its pokeball, Ash decided it was time to test out what everyone was hoping to see. He held up Goodra's pokeball and smiled at the dragon type. "Thanks Goodra, have a good rest." Ash then put Goodra's pokeball onto his belt, and quickly pulled out his next choice. He gave an apologetic look to Pikachu, who looked disappointed he wasn't going to get a chance to battle, and then threw out the pokeball. "Greninja, I choose you!" he shouted, as the light flashed, and the frog-ninja Pokemon emerged.

"Wow," Gary said excitedly, as he approached his side of the field again, a new pokeball in his hand, "I was hoping to be able to battle Greninja. This should be a good one." He then threw out his next pokeball, and as the light flashed, he shouted, "Electivire, you're up!" A moment later, the large, black and yellow Pokemon emerged. It was a humanoid Pokemon with yellow fur all around its body and black stripes on its legs, arms and torso. A black ring seemed to go around its head, covering its red eyes. On its back, were two black tails, with red tips. It was a Pokemon Ash was quite familiar with, having battled Gary's before, but also having had to contend with a tough one that his rival, Paul, had back in Sinnoh. It wasn't an easy matchup for Greninja, especially with the type disadvantage.

Ash moved quickly once Professor Oak gave the signal to start the battle. "Greninja, use Double Team, now! Surround Electivire!"

"Gren!" Greninja shouted, acknowledging he'd heard the order. He then slammed his webbed hands together, looking straight at the intimidating form of Electivire, before his copies began to shoot outwards, covering the entire field. Ash was a little surprised by how many popped up. There had to be about forty Greninja copies, all spread out in front of Electivire. _There's no way Gary's gonna be able to spot Greninja through all of this,_ Ash thought confidently. He was starting to feel the same feeling he had when he was at his peak in the Kalos League. _Gary was just what we needed. A tough opponent, but one that we can beat when we work hard._

"Electivire, clear them all out with Thunder!" Gary ordered, smirking as he seemed to be feeling particularly confident about the order.

"Electi! Electivire!" the thunderbolt Pokemon roared, raising up its arms and tails in some kind of victory pose. Its hands started to spark, and then a couple of jets shot up high into the sky, entering the dark rain clouds from Goodra's Rain Dance.

That's when Ash realized why Gary was so confident. He looked up at the sky in alarm, and saw the clouds lighting up brightly, just before a massive bolt of bright, yellow electricity shot down from the sky. It slammed into the ground, smoke instantly shooting up as a couple dozen of the Greninja copies vaporized on contact with the lightning. A moment later, and the rest were gone as well, before suddenly, Greninja was shouting in pain, alone in the middle of field as the electricity coursed through his body. "Greninja!" he shouted in concern, as finally the attack ended and Greninja fell back, barely managing to keep himself from falling over. "Are you alright?" Ash asked, eyes wide as he watched his pained Pokemon. _I let my guard down,_ Ash told himself bitterly. _I left Greninja completely open._

"Did you forget that Rain Dance would help Electivire out?" Gary asked, eyes shining with confidence from his successful attack.

Ash narrowed his eyes, feeling his heart rate increasing. He was definitely not going to let that happen again. "Greninja, Aerial Ace, let's go!" he shouted, throwing his hand out in front of him. Greninja nodded, quickly lowering his body, before kicking off and launching himself towards Electivire. His leg stretched out in front of him, glowing white, and before Gary or Electivire could react, the frog-ninja's kick was driving hard into the thunderbolt Pokemon's chest, causing it to roar in pain and stagger back.

Gary had his next move planned, though, and quickly made his next order. "Electivire, strike back with Iron Tail." As Greninja prepared another strike, flipping backwards after landing his kick, Electivire quickly moved up his two, black tails, brought them together and then swung them forward, as they began to glow in a bright, white light. Just as Greninja landed on his feet, the Iron Tail struck him hard in the chest and he was sent flying backwards, sliding through the mud that was beginning to form on the ground from the rainfall.

Greninja was quick to recover, though, rising up from the ground as he slid across the ground. _We've gotta be more careful_ , Ash realized, knowing he was being too reckless so far with this battle. He looked up at the sky and noticed that the clouds were starting disperse, smaller and smaller amounts of rain falling. He knew he had to move quick to gain any advantage he could from it. "Greninja, use Water Shuriken, quick!"

"Greeen..." Greninja shouted, putting his arms to his sides, water forming between his webbed hands. He held them there for a moment and then pulled his arms apart, the water splitting so that he held a watery ninja star in each hand. "NINJA!" He leaped into the air, pulled his arms further back, and then threw them forward with all his might. The water shurikens spun toward Electivire with extreme speed, and struck it with so much force it was sent flying into the air, smoke shooting outwards from where the powerful shurikens made contact.

"Alright, let's keep it up!" Ash yelled, his heart starting to beat faster and faster. He wasn't taking any chances now. He and Greninja knew they could win this, no matter how good Gary was. "Use Cut!"

"Gren!" Greninja confirmed, landing softly on the ground and then launching himself forward, putting a webbed hand to his hip, and then pulling up quickly, a white sword of light shooting up as he did so. He reached Electivire just as the thunderbolt Pokemon was rising up from the landed Water Shuriken attacks. Greninja swung outwards, and his sword struck Electivire with all the force he could put into it. Electivire's eyes bulged and for a brief moment, time seemed to freeze, and then Electivire was sent flying up into the air from the impact of the attack.

Gary wasn't going to give up that easily. The rain clouds were just now clearing up, and the sun started to shine brightly on the field again, and Ash had to shield his eyes as he looked up at Electivire, and Greninja had to do the same. Unfortunately, this was Gary's and Electivire's chance. "Thunder Punch, let's go!" Gary ordered, punching the air as though it was him doing the Thunder Punch.

"Electivire!" the thunderbolt Pokemon screeched, straightening out from up above, or so Ash assumed as he could barely see through squinted eyes. He then descended rapidly, fist outstretched towards Greninja, and Ash could hear the crackling of the electricity. There was a moment of silence, and then there was a loud cracking sound as the electricity sparked and exploded on contact with Greninja.

"Ninjaaa!" Greninja yelled, flying back and landing hard in front of his trainer. Ash looked at his Pokemon with wide eyes. Greninja's chest was sizzling as smoke billowed outwards from where Electivire's electric fist had made contact.

Ash couldn't let doubt hit him now, though. _No, we've overcome far more than this,_ he told himself, narrowing his eyes and looking at the proud Electivire in front of his smirking trainer. His already racing heart seemed to pick up in speed. As Greninja rose to his feet, Ash could feel the frustration and determination coming from him. No, he could feel it coming from himself. Greninja's head turned and he locked eyes with Ash.

He didn't say a word. The water shot up around Greninja so fast that nobody could really comprehend what had happened for a moment. Ash could feel the torrent of water as though it were covering his own body. He could see the glowing red fin in the middle of Greninja's head. He could see confident eyes and the raw strength in his Pokemon. He could _feel_ it as his own. _But it's not complete. Why is it not complete?_

Ash quickly shook his head. He couldn't focus on that now. He knew Gary wasn't going to end the battle, no matter how shocked he was to see Greninja's new form. "Alright Greninja, use Cut!" Ash yelled, narrowing his eyes and thrusting his hand forward, palm facing towards Electivire.

"Gren!" Greninja shouted, and Ash heard it with both his ears and his mind. With the water swirling around him, Greninja shot forward, shooting both Professor Oak and Dawn with a splash of water as he moved, although neither seemed to notice as they stared at the rare sight in front of them. The white blade emerged in front of Greninja, and a moment later, he slammed it into Electivire's chest. Before the thunderbolt Pokemon could fall back, Greninja had slipped around him and again slashed out with the sword, driving it hard into Electivire's shoulder. Then, with a quick jump, Greninja appeared over Electivire's head and swung down hard, sending the electric type falling to the ground.

"Electivire, are you alright?" Gary called in concern, as Greninja leaped backwards, his sword disappearing as he braced himself to continue to fight. The water seemed to be swirling wilder and wilder around him. Something about it seemed too chaotic. Ash blinked, starting to see spots in his eyes. _What's going on? We're winning...everything is fine._

"Vire...electi...vire," the thunderbolt Pokemon moaned in response. It managed to slowly rise up, though, head moving up and looking at Greninja in front of it. Ash could see the determination flashing in its eyes. It was definitely motivated to win against this new, powerful opponent.

"Good, then use Thunder Punch!" Gary ordered, confidence clear in his voice. "Hit him with everything you've got!"

"Alright Greninja, let's counter it!" Ash yelled, shaking his head as more black spots came to his vision. He could see Greninja shaking his head too, likely being bugged by the same thing. "Aerial-" He instantly stopped the order as he saw Electivire charging forward, fist pulled back, crackling with electricity. However, it seemed to be approaching in slow motion. Ash's eyes moved to the electricity covered fist. Suddenly, it wasn't a yellow one, but a clawed, black one. It was Charizard...Alain's Charizard. More black spots came to Ash's vision, and suddenly he was seeing flashes of Electivire and Charizard. He could see Greninja getting hit. He could feel it. It felt like the strike from Mega Charizard. It felt like failure and defeat.

 _I can't move._ Ash couldn't see anything. His heart was pounding. There was a loud ringing in his ears. _What's going on?_

"Ash!" a girl's voice suddenly yelled.

"Ashy boy?"

"Ash!"

Ash's head then hit the ground and everything went black.

 **Author's Note:**

This seems kind of weird to do this considering what appears to be happening soon in the anime. However, this is a different story of course and Ash-Greninja is part of this one. So far, Ash hasn't learned about the bond phenomenon yet, so when he goes to the school, that'll be something that comes into play, especially given what happened here. But no more on that. Don't want to spoil anything. Just remember the confidence thing. Ash's confidence is not at its highest so Ash-Greninja is not at its best.

Other than that, we had the Clemont, Serena and Shauna meeting. Hopefully that worked well. It might've been a cheap way for me to get Shauna, Trevor and Tierno into the mix, but it was better than having Serena call up Shauna and suggest the school I think.

Well, with that I leave you. Hope you enjoyed. One more chapter and then the school starts. I am _really_ looking forward to that. I have _sooooo much planned._


	5. A Challenging Gym Battle

**Author's Note:**

Wow, this one's long. Took a while to get out, I know. Really busy lately. If there are long breaks again, just know I'm not ever giving up on the story, so at most it'll be a two week break, and then I'll get the next chapter out ASAP. Enough on that, though.

A couple questions on the last chapter, that should be addressed. Ash did learn to control Ash-Greninja in this universe, however, the loss to Alain has kind of "spooked" him, I guess. Best way to put it right now. It'll be discussed further, though.

And, old rivals and characters for other schools. They will not be a part of this story. However, I plan to have more than just this story. There will at least be a sequel, and likely another story after that. Some familiar faces will show up. For now, it's mostly OC's for the other schools. I'll discuss that more in the second author's note. For now, I hope you enjoy chapter 5.

 **Chapter 5: A Challenging Gym Battle**

A few minutes after their conversation with Clemont, Serena and Shauna were walking along a more populated street in Lumiose City, in search of cafe where they could relax and catch up for a few minutes. They hadn't really planned on what they would be doing today, but Serena assumed they'd just be shopping and maybe they'd find a park they could practice some performances in. Of course, Shauna was likely interested in learning more about the school, but Serena knew they had plenty of time to discuss that, either throughout the day, or even the next month.

"Oh, there's a good place!" Shauna suddenly exclaimed, as the two performers rounded a corner, reaching a street with a whole array of shops, bakeries and cafes. Serena's eyes followed where Shauna was pointing, and she could just see a small cafe on the other side of the street, with a little patio outside, and a few people sitting out with their Pokemon. "Come on, let's go!" Shauna shouted again, picking up the pace and making her way quickly down the sidewalk on their side of the street.

Serena sighed in exasperation, but sped up as well so that she wouldn't get too far behind her excited friend. As soon as she made it over to Shauna, who had bolted past a few stunned people who'd been walking at a normal pace, the brunette nodded, looked both ways, and then led Serena across the street. Once across, they stood in front of the cafe Shauna had selected, both giving it a quick once over to make sure they wanted go there.

It was a small, old fashioned looking building, with three small tables out front, a curving, red canopy hanging over top of them. In front of the tables, separating them from the street, were short garden hedges, which seemed to give the patio a sense of privacy from the busy street in front of the cafe. Through the window, past the patio, Serena could see a few more tables inside and pictures of Pokemon scattered all over the walls. A few of the people inside even had Pokemon out with them, including a young trainer with a Fennekin which made Serena remember the day she'd received hers not too far from here.

"I think this place looks nice," Shauna decided, glancing at Serena to make sure the latter agreed. Serena nodded, smiling, and then she and Shauna made their way over to an empty table on the patio and sat down, Serena on one side, Shauna on the other. A blonde lady in a brown and white uniform from the cafe, who seemed eager to please, quickly noticed them, greeted them, and then gave them their menus before returning inside the cafe.

Serena was just opening up her menu, eyes immediately scanning over the pictures of macarons, when loud, clapping footsteps were heard on the other end of the hedges. Serena poked her head up above them to see what was going on, and noticed a girl, about her age, with long, pink hair going all the way down her back. She was wearing a black tank top, and a short, pink skirt and pink sandals, along with a small, black bow in her hair. When the girl stopped, turning her head to glance at the cafe, Serena could see her bright, blue eyes, which narrowed when the girl looked on. "Where is that idiot?" the girl muttered, before storming off, clearly in search of something.

"What are you staring at?" Shauna suddenly asked, poking her head up as well, but now unable to see the girl Serena had been watching, due to her having stormed off so quickly. "What was that stomping all about?" she asked, after returning to her original position.

Serena shrugged, also settling back down in her seat. Clearly that girl had been in a rush to find whoever it was she was looking for and wasn't happy about being it. Although, she'd had enough time to disturb the peacefulness of the cafe they were at. Serena let the hint of irritation leave her, and she turned her attention to Shauna, who was watching her curiously. "Sorry, I just got distracted. It was nothing. Nothing important, anyways."

"Good, so we can talk," Shauna concluded, pulling her chair up further and then leaning forward. "What else can you tell me about this school? You must have looked into it a little more since talking to Palermo."

"I have," Serena admitted, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her tablet. She quickly looked up the website for the school and once it was loaded, handed the tablet over to Shauna. "And Clemont apparently made that website," she said with a laugh.

Shauna nodded, smirking a little as her eyes scanned the screen in front of her. "Wow, Professor Sycamore must have put a lot of work into this whole thing," she pointed out, her eyes widening a little. "There are so many classes. Even ones that aren't dedicated to Pokemon."

Serena felt herself getting a little excited by just watching Shauna go over all the different opportunities that the school had to offer. "Do you see anything you like?" she asked, knowing full well that Shauna was likely interested in nearly everything she saw on the website, considering she had a huge grin and her eyes were shining with excitement.

"Yeah, I'll definitely be doing that Pokemon Fashion class. That would be perfect for one of those fashion shows, like they did in the Coumarine Showcase. It could really come in handy to learn how to better design our own outfits." Shauna continued to read through the website for a few more minutes, and then looked up at Serena. "Do you know anything about this Interschool Pokemon League?" she asked curiously.

"Not really," Serena answered, only remembering Palermo briefly mentioning it. _She did say I should make sure to get involved, though. I should make sure to know more about it._ "It's got something to do with school teams, right?" she asked, leaning forward a bit, so she could hear Shauna's answer better.

"It says here, that it's considered by many to be the highest skilled competition outside of Pokemon Leagues, Masterclass Showcases and Grand Festivals," Shauna answered, as she read off what the website had to say about the IPL. "The Battle Team, is a team of three trainers, and they face off against other schools, with each trainer pitted against one from the other school's team in a series of one on one battles. Each team gets a point for a single win, and can get up to three points for every school battle."

Serena thought of Tierno and Trevor, who were both very capable trainers. With Trevor having a Charizard that could mega evolve, and Tierno's confusing dancing tactics, the two of them would make Lumiose University Battle Team a pretty good team to start off with. "I can't wait to tell Tierno and Trevor about this. I think they'll really like this idea."

Shauna smirked, raising a clenched fist in front of her face, eyes lighting up with confidence. "Lumiose University's already got the best battle team out there. Tierno, Trevor and probably Clemont as well. Two Kalos League trainers and a Gym Leader. We'll be unstoppable!"

Serena hadn't thought about Clemont, but that definitely made sense. She wasn't much of an expert on battling, but there was no doubt in her mind that a Gym Leader would definitely help out with making the Lumiose University Battle Team a success. _Of course, other schools probably have good trainers as well,_ she admitted to herself. "What about the Performing Team?" she asked, glancing down from embarrassment. She probably should have researched a bit more about it, but she'd been more focused on ensuring her routines were well prepared for the beginning of school.

"Did Palermo not mention anything about that?" Shauna asked, giggling a little at Serena's embarrassment about not having done any previous research.

"Well, when she told me about the school, she popped into my house for about ten minutes, and then ran off back here to Lumiose City," Serena muttered, a little surprised at her mini outburst. "I never had time to ask her any questions. If she'd said anymore, I probably would've been more interested and looked it up."

Shauna nodded, looking like she just wanted to move the conversation along, clearly able to tell that the Palermo subject made Serena a little nervous. "Alright, alright," she murmured, looking back down at the tablet. "Let's see..." she narrowed her eyes as she began to read, and Serena could see that her friend looked a little surprised.

"What is it?" she asked, watching in anticipation as Shauna scratched her chin in confusion. "Does it not look good?"

"Huh?" Shauna jumped a little, looking slightly alarmed by the question, clearly having forgotten Serena was there for a moment. "Oh, no it looks really good, actually. It's just a bit different, that's all."

Serena thought for a moment, trying to remember what Palermo had mentioned about the IPL. There really hadn't been too much to their conversation, so it was a bit frustrating. _I really should have looked into it more. I guess I was just more focused on the classes,_ she thought to herself with a shrug. "Well, how is it different, then?"

"Do you know anything about Pokemon Contests?" Shauna asked, looking up at Serena, a puzzled expression on her face.

"All I know is that they're pretty big in Hoenn and Sinnoh and they're growing in Kanto and Johto as well," Serena answered, trying to think of a time when she'd seen any contests before. She knew they were kind of similar to showcases, but couldn't think of the specifics.

Shauna shrugged, apparently thinking that it wasn't a huge deal to know the details just yet. They could figure all of that out later. "Well, apparently the coordinators and performers are part of the same team," she explained, once again training her eyes on the tablet. "Two performers and two coordinators. One of the performers competes in a theme performance. Then, the other performer does a freestyle performance. After that, the coordinators each have a contest battle. One is a single battle, while the other is a double battle."

Serena laughed a little nervously. "Sounds kind of complicated." She then remembered something about contests, that made what Shauna had told her seem a little strange. "Don't coordinators have to do performances as well?"

"Yeah," Shauna said, reading it over again, "I thought so as well." She paused a moment while she continued to look over the website, then she looked up, looking somewhat excited. "Apparently one performer and one coordinator are allowed to switch between battles and performances. Well, if the coordinator is female, since the performances are meant for Kalos Queen training."

"Oh, well that can be your job if we ever get to that," Serena joked, laughing at the thought of trying to fight a contest battle. She assumed that she'd probably fare better in one of those than in a regular battle, but still knew that battling overall was not her strong suit. "I'll leave any battles to you, Trevor and Tierno if we have to deal with them."

"Don't be silly, Serena," Shauna laughed, closing up the tablet and handing it back over to Serena. "You know you're not that bad at battling. It shouldn't even come to that, though. I'm sure that since it's a new school, Professor Sycamore will be trying hard to recruit coordinators that are comfortable battling. We'll just leave it to whoever signs up for contests," she finished, as a waitress came out of the cafe, heading over to their table to take their orders.

* * *

Dawn stared at Ash with wide eyes as he lay in his bed, completely immobile with the exception of his chest rising and falling with his deep breathing. She noticed Pikachu looking on at his trainer, from where he sat to the left of Ash's head, his eyes also wide with worry. Dawn couldn't believe what she had seen happen only a few minutes before. The speed and power of Greninja and how in sync he had been with Ash was phenomenal. It was something Dawn had never seen before. It was exhilarating to watch. She knew that seeing that kind of power was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for many to see. However, she now hoped that she'd never have to see it again.

"Dawn, dear, you're shaking," Delia whispered, looking at Dawn in concern from her position next to Ash's bed. The two were sitting on either side of Ash, who had been rushed back to his house after fainting, Professor Oak saying that they needed to make sure he was in a place that was as comfortable as possible to him. Greninja was still at the lab, and would be taken care of by Oak, Gary and Oak's assistant, Tracey, who had returned with Ash from the Orange Islands a few years back, after meeting him after Ash's victory at the Orange League.

"Huh?" Dawn glanced down and noticed her fists clenched tightly over top of her knees. They were shaking as though it was a cold night in the middle of the winter. "Oh...yeah, well, it was just kind of scary to see that. I never thought a Pokemon battle could make a _trainer_ faint like that."

Delia nodded, looking down at her son with worried eyes. "Yes, well, Ash isn't one to keep things very... _normal_ , is he?" she asked, laughing weakly. Dawn couldn't understand how this woman was managing not to panic at the sight of her unconscious son.

"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital?" Dawn asked, looking at Ash again, eyes widening a bit when she almost seemed to see him frown, as if he'd heard her say that and didn't approve. She ignored that, and then looked back at Delia. "We're not doctors, so how do we know if this isn't worse than just passing out?"

"I understand your concern," Delia answered, smiling a little, her gaze shifting back towards her son. "I trust Professor Oak, though. He seemed to think this was best. I think he knows a bit more about the strange connection between Ash and Greninja than he shows."

Dawn nodded in agreement, thinking back to what had happened after Ash had collapsed, right as Electivire was striking Greninja with a Thunder Punch. Professor Oak had moved so quickly, it had seemed like he was half his age. He'd called for Gary to help him carry Ash, and they'd had Electivire take Greninja to the lab. Oak and Gary had then rushed Ash towards his house, Dawn trailing behind, left to her own dark thoughts about what could be happening. Once they'd arrived at the house, to a mortified Delia, Oak had quickly explained what had happened, and assured everyone that Ash would be alright, but that they needed to ensure he was well rested. He had then rushed back to the lab with Gary, muttering about Greninja and something about a Professor Sycamore.

"How long do we wait, though?" Dawn asked, noticing Ash's eyelids twitching a little as he continued to sleep. "We can't just sit here all day, hoping for him to wake up."

In that moment, Dawn could have sworn that Ash had been awake the entire time and listening to them, because as soon as those words left her mouth, his eyes shot open, and he stared around the room. "Greninja!" he shouted, looking up at Pikachu, then over to his mother, and finally at Dawn. "What happened? Where is he?"

"Ash, it's alright, relax," Delia whispered, reaching her hand forward and holding Ash's arm gently, as though she was worried he'd leap out of bed at any given moment. "Professor Oak wanted to treat Greninja at the lab. He'll be alright. I'm sure they'll all be here very soon."

Ash stared straight ahead, looking at nothing for a few moments, and Dawn knew he was trying to remember exactly what happened right before he had passed out. "It didn't work. We worked so hard to master it, but it didn't work."

Dawn didn't really understand it, but she knew Ash was probably talking about Greninja's special form. She didn't know if she really had anything to say that could help, but she decided to give it a go nonetheless. She remembered back to the battle, and thought of what had happened just before Ash had fainted. Things had been going pretty well for him up to that point, so clearly it had something to do with whatever had happened right before he had passed out. "I guess that Thunder Punch was really powerful, wasn't it?" she asked, glancing down out of nervousness, worried that Ash would think her reasoning was dumb.

When there wasn't any response, Dawn looked back up, and saw Ash looking at Pikachu. It was kind of weird to Dawn, but it looked like they were having a conversation just by looking at each other. From the looks of it, neither of them seemed to happy about it, either. Finally, Ash turned to Dawn, sighing a little. "I guess it did have something to do with that Thunder Punch." He laughed weakly, eyes showing no hint of amusement whatsoever. "We just couldn't take it, I guess."

"Why don't I go and get you something to eat?" Delia suddenly asked, standing up and pushing her chair back a little. "You must be pretty hungry." Ash's stomach must have heard the question, because it rumbled immediately after his mother spoke. Delia smirked a little at that, while an embarrassed Ash laughed. "Would you like anything, Dawn?" she asked, starting to head towards the door.

"I'm alright, thanks," Dawn answered, tempted to get up and leave the room as well, not knowing what she would be able to say to Ash with nobody else there but Pikachu and Piplup, who was sitting quietly under her chair. She couldn't really do that, though, and just watched as Delia left the room.

Ash quickly started to sit up in his bed, wincing a little and holding his head, signalling that he was still feeling the effects of whatever had just happened with Greninja. "So, I guess you've gotta head back home pretty soon, huh?" he suddenly asked, positioning himself so he was sitting with his back to the wall, right beside Pikachu. He looked at Dawn expectantly, and she realized that he'd likely noticed that she'd been making some small preparations to do just that, despite not mentioning it. _He's not completely dense,_ she noted, shaking her head a little.

"That's not a big deal right now," she answered, pointing at Ash. "You just got knocked out, so maybe we should focus on that, don't you think?"

"I'm fine," Ash argued, shrugging as though that meant that nothing was wrong with him. "Besides, I'd feel better if I knew what was going on with one of my friends. I'm not the only one struggling with what I'm gonna do next."

Dawn nodded, starting to understand what Ash meant, even if he didn't. He'd been doing a lot to help Dawn over the past month, and she was aware that it seemed to help him deal with his own recovery from his disappointment. When Dawn left, he'd have to figure out what to do next. After what had just happened, that reality was probably making him a little nervous. "I can't stay here forever," she started, looking down at Piplup as he emerged from his position under her chair. "I guess I'll go back to Sinnoh, and then look into competing in another Grand Festival. I haven't tried Hoenn yet, so maybe I'll go there."

"Hoenn?" Ash paused a moment, looking deep in thought. "Yeah, Hoenn's a cool place, with a lot of interesting Pokemon to see." He looked a Pikachu, and then back up at Dawn. "Think your battle skills are all set and ready to go?"

"Of course!" Dawn answered, trying to sound as confident as possible, holding up a fist in a show of strength. "We've been training really hard. I can't lose now."

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Ash said, exchanging a small smile with Pikachu. He then looked at Dawn curiously. "Is there something specific about Hoenn that you're interested in?"

Dawn shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed about her reasoning for choosing Hoenn. Well, really just embarrassed that she felt like she had to choose any place at all. "I don't really know, to be honest," she finally admitted, deciding to just come clean about it. "You know, I think I just feel like I have to pick _something._ Don't you feel the same way? We can't just train forever."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ash said quietly, taking a deep breath and looking towards the window in his room. "It's weird, though, because I enjoy travelling, battling and collecting gym badges. It's just, I feel like I want to try something else. Obviously I still want to battle, but getting those eight badges wherever I go next, after going so far in Kalos, doesn't sit right at the moment."

"I feel the same about contests right now," Dawn admitted, turning around as she heard a noise from outside. Glancing out the window, she was shocked to see Professor Oak, Gary and Greninja, all walking along the path towards the house. Clearly Greninja was recovering just as Ash seemed to be. When she turned to face Ash again, she could see that he had noticed the trio approaching as well, but he nodded, signalling for her to continue with what she was saying. "I guess there's nothing to do, but to get the ribbons, or in your case badges, and then compete in the real thing."

"Maybe we'll figure out something else that works. There has to be _something_ that we can do, if we're trying to change things up a bit." Ash looked like he was trying to believe his words, but it wasn't really working. He finally just shook his head, and then quickly hopped off his bed, standing up, Pikachu leaping up onto his shoulder. "Come on, let's go see how Greninja's doing," he suggested, turning and heading towards the door of his room.

Dawn turned and glanced out the window one more time. _He's right. There has to be_ something _we can do. We don't have to always do the same thing._ Dawn then stood up, smiled at Piplup and nodded for him to come along, and then the two of them made their way out of the room, following Ash downstairs.

* * *

Once Clemont had parted ways with Shauna and Serena, the inventor had quickly started making his way towards the gym. He wasn't exactly planning on doing more work, but he wanted to check up on Clembot and see if there had been any challengers at the gym. If his settings had worked, Clemont knew that no trainer incapable of acquiring at least four badges would have been able to win. Clembot wasn't unbeatable, but Clemont had definitely done enough work to make the robot a difficult opponent.

It was definitely worth a quick trip to Prism Tower to see how things had gone. Clemont would be able to analyze the battle data and see if he needed to make any adjustments. Right now, he wasn't even thinking about it in regards to his gym. No, he wanted the programming perfect so that the screening battles for Lumiose University went as smoothly as possible.

As Clemont walked along the busy Lumiose City street, he suddenly felt any exhaustion he had, leave him right there. He'd been working hard on his various tasks, but he really was enjoying it. The thought of participating in the whole thing excited him as well. He really thought that this was going to make him a much better Gym Leader, inventor and overall, a better person. The hard work was necessary.

Once he reached the end of the street, Clemont looked around at the circular courtyard that surrounded Prism Tower. There were quite a few people hustling and bustling around. Some were rushing to stores or their jobs. Others were just relaxing and socializing. Clemont's eyes then moved towards the tower, and he noticed that there seemed to be someone waiting there.

Near the entrance to Prism Tower, was a tall, pink-haired guy, leaning against the wall of the tower, his arms folded across his chest. He was wearing a collared, black shirt, and long, pink pants. Around his neck was a pink bandanna and covering his eyes, were black sunglasses. He looked to be quite bored, and was staring up at the sky, while tapping his foot against the ground. Clemont instantly felt a little nervous as he walked along the courtyard. Something about this guy being in front of his gym made him feel uneasy.

The uneasiness only intensified as Clemont drew nearer and nearer to the gym. The guy in front of the tower moved his head as Clemont approached, and even though he was wearing sunglasses, Clemont knew he was being watched. The inventor couldn't help but return the stare, his being a curious one rather than what seemed to be bored interest from the other side. Clemont took a deep breath finally, and then turned his head, deciding it was better to ignore the little staring contest.

This turned out to be a trigger, though. As soon as Clemont turned his head and continued to walk towards the entrance to the tower, the pink-haired guy slowly sauntered over to block the Gym Leader's path. Clemont continued to walk, watching this person closely as he stood still, again folding his arms across his chest. He didn't smile or anything. No, he just watched, waiting for Clemont to get close.

When Clemont finally did approach, that's when the stranger spoke. "Clemont?" he asked, sounding bored and tired as though he really didn't want to be there, despite the fact he'd clearly been waiting for Clemont.

"Um...yes, that's me," Clemont answered, going for a friendly greeting by giving a small smile and holding out his hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you...um...?"

"Anton," the stranger muttered, looking displeased about saying his name. He glanced at Clemont's hand, and then looked back up, not making any movement to shake hands. Clemont quickly pulled his hand back, getting the sense that his uneasiness was not unjustified. After an awkward pause, Anton spoke again. "You're the...Gym Leader?" he asked slowly, yawning a little as he turned his head and looked at Prism Tower, before returning his gaze to Clemont.

Clemont nodded, starting to realize what this was about. He had a suspicion that this guy was a challenger, and this all but confirmed it. "I take it you've been waiting to challenge me? I do have Clembot, my robot substitute, running the gym in my place right now."

"Oh, yes," Anton sighed, twirling a strand of his pink hair. "Well, that rust bucket wasn't much of a challenge. I sincerely hope you are much better than your...substitute." He paused and looked around the courtyard, almost as if he was analyzing everyone there. Finally, he looked back at Clemont, who stared back with his continuously confused expression. "I suppose you aren't much of a trainer, though. Not if you rely on toys to fight for you."

Clemont was never one to respond to jabs like that, and he refused to let this guy be the one to make him do so. He took a deep breath, and then pointed to the gym. "If you want to challenge me, that's fine. I'm pretty busy, though, so we'll have to get started quickly."

Anton looked almost insulted by that and frowned, reaching up and tilting down his sunglasses to look at Clemont with his dark, blue eyes. "I find it amusing that you can even call yourself a Gym Leader," he said quietly, before readjusting his sunglasses and turning towards the doors of the tower. "My Pokemon aren't at all tired after easily defeating your robot, so this probably won't take very long, anyways."

Clemont gritted his teeth and followed his insulting challenger inside. If this guy didn't think much of Clemont and his gym, why bother challenging? He took a deep breath and just tried to ignore his irritation as he followed Anton down the dark hallway which led to the gym entrance. For someone who had only been here once before, Anton seemed to know exactly where to go. Once they reached the door, a robotic voice boomed out of the speaker next to it.

"Greetings challenger! I apologize, as our gym is unable to operate at the moment," Clembot began to explain. "We shall be up and running in the morning once our Pokemon have rested."

"It's alright, Clembot," Clemont called out, stepping forward and past Anton. "Anton has come to challenge the gym again, but would like a battle against me instead."

"My apologies, sir," Clembot announced, although Clemont didn't know why he'd be apologizing. "Very well, I will open the door." At that, the doors started creaking open, immediately filling the dark hallway with the light of the battlefield.

Clemont quickly started walking ahead, going straight towards his spot on the battlefield. He was feeling surprisingly determined. He'd had rude challengers before, but something about Anton really made him motivated to win. This was probably just the kind of challenge he needed. He wanted to be a better Gym Leader and he needed to be able to show people like this what it meant to be a trainer.

When Clemont reached his side of the field, Clembot was waiting for him. "Sir," the robot began, staring ahead at Anton, who was now in his position on his side of the field, "that challenger was here a short while ago. He already won. He refused his badge."

"It's alright," Clemont said, giving a reassuring smile to Clembot. "Anton just wants to see everything the gym has to offer, I guess. How about you referee for the match?"

Clembot nodded, and gave the inventor a mini bow. "Very well, sir, it would be my pleasure," he announced, before straightening up and then making his way over to the side of the field, in between the two trainers.

Clemont took a deep breath as he prepared for the battle to begin. This wasn't exactly what he wanted to when he'd decided to head to his gym, but he supposed it was good to keep his battle senses sharp, especially if he had any interest in battling at Lumiose University. He quickly pulled out his first pokeball, and then looked across the field to see that Anton had also selected his.

"Are you ready to begin?" Anton asked, his voice once again sounding bored, like he wished he was in another world. "I hope Lumiose City has more to offer than...that," he said, nodding his head towards Clembot, who didn't react at all.

Clemont narrowed his eyes and held up his first pokeball. "I'll show you what we have to offer," he assured the cocky challenger. He then tossed out his pokeball, and the white light flashed in front of his eyes, before a small, green and brown two-legged Pokemon with a green shell on its back that extended up to its head, with four spikes at the top. Clemont smiled a little as Chespin excitedly jumped up and down, surprised to be in a gym battle, but clearly happy to be involved. Usually Clemont stuck with his electric types for his gym battles, but they would have all been tired out by Anton. Clemont had to trust Chespin, here, though. The little grass type could be a little wild at times, but he did show up in important moments. "I'm counting on you, Chespin," Clemont told the spiny nut Pokemon. "I know you can do this."

"Interesting," Anton murmured, watching the excited Chespin a moment. "Well, my first will definitely be able to handle this. Hitmonlee, time to fight!" he shouted, tossing out his pokeball as he moved his arm outward across his chest. Another flash of light, and the fighting type emerged. It was a brown, humanoid Pokemon with short arms and long, powerful legs. Its head and torso seemed to be connected and it had a somewhat ovoid shape. Its angry eyes stared ahead at Chespin, and Clemont noticed the grass type take a nervous step backwards.

"It's alright, Chespin, you can do this," Clemont assured his Pokemon.

"Chespin-ches!" Chespin cried out with a nod, taking his original position as he stepped forward and attempted to spread out menacingly.

With both Pokemon now out, Clembot stepped forward and raised one of his arms with a creaking sound. "This will be a three on three battle between Anton, the challenger, and Clemont, the Lumiose Gym Leader. If one trainer loses all three Pokemon, the other will be declared the winner. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Do you agree?"

Clemont nodded, ready to get the match started, but Anton apparently wasn't as ready. "I don't agree with the last rule. I think both trainers should be allowed to substitute or neither of us. If you aren't substituting, I won't."

"Fine, it's your choice," Clemont muttered, waving for Clembot to signal for the match to start. He was really ready to get this over and done with. The robot nodded and then raised an arm again, before swinging it down and calling for the match to begin. Clemont immediately made the first move. "Chespin, Pin Missile, let's go!"

"Pin-pin-ches!" Chespin shouted in agreement, jumping back and lowering his head, the spikes at the top glowing bright green. After a brief moment where the attack charged up, Chespin unleashed it, and about a dozen green projectiles fired out from his head, leaving a white trail of light behind them as they headed for Hitmonlee.

There was no panic from Anton or the fighting type, though. Instead, Anton simply raised a hand up and said, "Deflect with Close Combat," before waving his hand in dismissal.

"Monlee!" Hitmonlee answered, before one of its long legs raised up, just as the missiles approached him. Then, with tremendous speed, Hitmonlee's leg started kicking out at the incoming attack, shooting up, down, left and right, exploding each missile as he made contact, and looking completely unharmed.

Anton seemed to study the field a moment, and then he made another dismissive wave towards Chespin. "A Blaze Kick, please, Hitmonlee."

"Hit-mon-LEE!" Hitmonlee grunted out, stepping back with one leg and then kicking off hard. Clemont could only watch in stunned silence as the fighting type launched towards Chespin with a flaming leg outstretched in front if him. A moment later, and poor little Chespin was struck hard by the attack, right in the middle of the chest.

"Ches!" Chespin cried out in pain, as he was launched backwards, flying right past Clemont and smashing hard into the wall, before slowly sliding down.

"Chespin is unable to battle!" Clembot declared, raising an arm towards Anton and Hitmonlee, who had leaped back to stand in front of his trainer. "Hitmonlee is the winner!"

Clemont gulped, immediately feeling the nerves start to get to him. Chespin wasn't his strongest Pokemon by any means, but one hit shouldn't have knocked him out, super effective or not. He raised up his pokeball, and turned, facing the slumped over Chespin. "Thank you, Chespin," he whispered, as he recalled the spiny nut Pokemon. Clemont quickly put Chespin's pokeball away, and then pulled out his next choice, ignoring Anton's bored stare. "Alright, let's catch up now," Clemont said, holding up his next pokeball. He threw it forward, sure that his next choice would be able to put up more of a fight. "Let's go, Bunnelby!"

"Bunnelby!" the grey and brown rabbit Pokemon shouted as he emerged, kicking the ground and lowering his thick ears in preparation for battle. He was one of Clemont's most trusted Pokemon, and definitely didn't want to let his trainer down.

When Clembot signalled for the match to resume, Clemont quickly made the first move, a plan already formed in his mind for defeating Hitmonlee. "Quick, get underground with Dig!" he ordered, thrusting his arm forward with the command.

As Bunnelby burrowed undergound, ears twirling around like a drill, Clemont quickly looked up at Anton, seeing the pink-haired trainer watching the field with narrowed eyes. Once Bunnelby was completely underground and nowhere to be seen, Anton made his order. "Up in the air with Bounce," he called out, voice eerily calm."

"Monlee!" the fighting type answered back with a nod, before lowering himself to the ground, and then kicking off hard, launching himself high into the air, near the ceiling.

"Now, strike the ground hard with Blaze Kick," Anton called up to his Pokemon. Clemont could just see Hitmonlee nod, and then it pointed its leg straight down and it ignited in flames. Then, it's rapid descent began, and Clemont knew he'd have to meet it head on.

His eyes scanned the field and Clemont smiled, just seeing a tiny hint if movement and knowing Bunnelby had positioned himself perfectly. "Now straight up, Bunnelby, and catch Hitmonlee's Blaze Kick with your ears!"

"Bunnel-BEE!" Bunnelby shouted, shooting straight up out of the ground in the centre of the battlefield, ears braced for contact. Clemont's fists clenched as he saw Hitmonlee descend quickly and just as his foot was about to make contact, Clemont started to doubt his plan.

There was no reason to doubt, though, as it went just as Clemont had hoped. Bunnelby did cry out in surprise as the powerful Blaze Kick struck his ears and sent him crashing down below. However, he managed to hold on tight to the leg above him, and Hitmonlee plummeted as well. With Bunnelby having lined himself up with the hole he'd dug below, he went straight into it, pulling Hitmonlee's leg with him, the fighting type only stopping once his leg was fully in and his body was unable to move further.

"Hit-hitmonlee?" Hitmonlee cried out in surprise, staring down at the hole he was stuck in. Clemont couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction in seeing a hint of surprise on Anton's face as well, although it was very brief.

"Now, Bunnelby, up and use Mud Shot, followed by Double Slap!" Clemont shouted, pointing upwards as though Bunnelby could see him from underground. The digging Pokemon responded quickly, though, the ground shaking behind Hitmonlee a moment before Bunnelby emerged, dirt shooting up around him.

"Bunnel..." the rabbit-like Pokemon shouted, as he pulled back his ears, three brown orbs appearing above them. "BEE!" he finally shouted, swinging his ears forward as the globules of mud were launched towards Hitmonlee's back.

"Lee!" Hitmonlee gasped out out in pain as the attack made contact, covering the fighting type's back in dirt. It wasn't over, though, as Bunnelby was quick to act on Clemont's next order, leaping forward with his ears ready to strike. In an instant, Bunnelby was right behind Hitmonlee, and he didn't waste any time in striking out, first with one ear, and then with the next.

"Keep it up, Bunnelby!" Clemont encouraged his determined Pokemon. "Don't let up!"

Anton chuckled a little, the sound not matching his demeanour at all. His lips were pursed, and Clemont could see his eyes narrowed, as his head was lowered, his sunglasses tipping down a little to show his eyes a bit. Suddenly, the pink-haired trainer smirked, and he raised his head back up, the sunglasses shifting back over his eyes as his head moved. "Bulk Up!" came his simple command.

As Bunnelby continued to pummel Hitmonlee's back, Clemont noticed an immediate change in the fighting type's demeanour. He winced from a few more hits, but Hitmonlee tensed up his body and took the beating. Within a few seconds, Clemont could see the kicking fiend's muscles bulging, and could almost feel the raw power emanating from it. As he looked on, Clemont could see that each strike from Bunnelby appeared to be doing less and less damage.

"Now, break free with Close Combat!" Anton ordered quickly, ready to take advantage of Hitmonlee's increased strength. The fighting type did just as asked, and within a few seconds, Clemont could see the ground shaking underneath Hitmonlee.

"Quick, Bunnelby, get back and then go back in with Wild Charge!" Clemont shouted, knowing there was little point in keeping up with the barrage of Double Slap attacks.

"Mon...LEE!" Hitmonlee shouted, as dirt exploded around him, his leg shooting out from the ground. He then spun around, standing up straight and then kicking outward quickly. Bunnelby just barely managed to leap back in time, and only because he was already moving from Clemont's order.

The rabbit-like Pokemon didn't back down as Hitmonlee moved towards him, though. His body was instantly covered in electricity as he lowered his body in preparation to leap back towards Hitmonlee. "Bunnel-bunnelby!" Bunnelby shouted, as he took a deep breath, and then leaped forward, just as Hitmonlee began to rapidly kick out in all directions with Close Combat.

Clemont held his breath as he watched the gap close between the two Pokemon, seemingly in slow motion. Then, with explosive force, Bunnelby's electricity covered body met with Hitmonlee's supercharged kick. Sparks of electricity shot out in all directions and the ground shook with the force of the impact. The power of the attacks seemed almost even, and Clemont smiled in satisfaction. His pleasure was short lived, though, as Hitmonlee's leg shot back from the brief stalemate, and then swung forward again. Bunnelby was shocked by the quick movement, and his body shifted forward once Hitmonlee's leg went back, making him vulnerable to the second kick. Clemont winced as he saw Bunnelby's eyes bulge from the pain, and then his body was launched backwards, slamming hard into the ground, leaving a trail of kicked up dirt behind him as he went skidding along the ground.

"Bunnelby!" Clemont cried out in concern, taking an instinctive step forward as he saw Bunnelby wincing and struggling to stand.

"Bunnel..." the rabbit Pokemon groaned, managing to raise himself up, standing weakly and staring ahead at Hitmonlee, who despite the many attacks from Bunnelby, looked ready to continue. Bunnelby wasn't giving in, though. With a deep breath, he managed to straighten up, and then looked to Clemont, ready for another order.

Clemont nodded, understanding Bunnelby's desire. From the smug look on Anton's face, the Lumiose Gym Leader felt his own desire to win increase, and knew why Bunnelby was set on taking this to the limit. He had to be smart, though. Anton seemed to prefer keeping the fight in close. To win, Clemont and Bunnelby needed an indirect approach. "Alright, use Dig!" Clemont shouted, immediately focusing on Hitmonlee and Anton once making the order.

"It didn't work last time, and it won't work this time," Anton taunted, smirking as he watched Bunnelby burrow underground. His head moved a little, and Clemont knew that underneath those sunglasses, Anton's eyes were scanning the field. "Use Bulk Up again," he said quickly, his head still shifting as he watched the field.

"Up and use Mud Shot!" Clemont shouted, pleased that his plan had worked, at least so far.

"Bee!" Bunnelby shouted, shooting up out of the ground, about ten feet away from the tensed up and flexing Hitmonlee. The three orbs of mud appeared right over the rabbit Pokemon's head and he pulled his ears back, before swinging them forward with full force. As Hitmonlee spread out his arms and legs, he watched with narrowed eyes while the orbs of mud shot towards him. They struck three times in quick succession right in the middle of Hitmonlee's chest, and the fighting type winced each time, taking a step back on the third hit.

"That's the risk of using Close Combat," Clemont called out to Anton, as Bunnelby landed softly and prepared for his next order. "Hitmonlee's special defence is lower, which made Mud Shot more effective."

"There's also a risk in showing your Pokemon, despite it having been well hidden," Anton shot back, raising his arm up. "Blaze Kick, now!" he shouted quickly. "Finish this!"

"Monlee!" Hitmonlee shouted, and with incredible speed, just as he'd done earlier against Chespin, the kicking fiend shot forward, kicking off with his left leg, and extending his right leg forward. It ignited in wild flames, just before making contact with Bunnelby in the middle of the chest. The rabbit Pokemon was launched across the field and skidded along the ground in front of Clemont, before rolling over in front of him.

"Bunnelby is unable to battle!" Clembot declared, raising his arm once again towards Anton and Hitmonlee. "Hitmonlee is the winner!"

Clemont sighed, but managed to steel himself as he recalled Bunnelby to his pokeball. The digging Pokemon had done well, so they couldn't be too disappointed. "Thanks, Bunnelby," he whispered, as he put the pokeball away and then pulled out the next one. "Alright, Anton," he called out, holding up his next pokeball, "this is your toughest challenge yet!" Clemont then threw out the pokeball, knowing that he could win with this Pokemon. "Go, Luxray!"

As the light flashed, revealing the black and blue, electric lion, Clemont watched Anton closely. The pink-haired trainer seemed completely unfazed, clearly not worried about Luxray at all. "Hitmonlee has managed to defeat five Pokemon in a row, as he defeated the robot's Pokemon as well. I doubt your Luxray can do very much."

"We'll see," Clemont muttered, as he watched Clembot give the signal to resume the battle. The inventor made sure to act quickly, immediately wanting to put Anton and Hitmonlee on the defensive. "Luxray, use Swift!"

"Deflect with Close Combat!" Anton countered quickly, smirking a little as he looked across the field at Clemont. "Don't expect that you can fight this battle from a distance."

Clemont ignored him, and watched closely as Luxray lowered his body to the ground, curled up his tail behind him, and then spun around, swinging his tail forward and unleashing a stream of bright, golden stars towards Hitmonlee. "Ray!" he shouted, as he finished his turn and watched the stars shoot towards his opponent.

"Mon...LEE!" Hitmonlee shouted in response, taking a step forward, and then raising his leg up in front of him. As the stars approached, he started kicking out at an incredible speed. Then, just as they reached him, his kicks exploded them on contact. He didn't miss a single one, striking up and down, left and right, and destroying every single one with a puff of smoke shooting out with each kick making contact.

"Now, Hitmonlee," Anton called out calmly, "strike with Blaze Kick!"

Clemont narrowed his eyes as he saw Hitmonlee lower his body, his leg already starting to glow red, a few bursts of flame shooting up along it. In close fighting was clearly in Hitmonlee's advantage most of the time, but he'd been fighting a lot, according to Anton. Even just in this battle, he'd done a lot. All those times using Close Combat, even with using Bulk Up to recover his lost defence, Hitmonlee couldn't be as strong defensively as he should be if he was fresh. "Luxray, counter Blaze Kick with Thunder Fang!"

As Hitmonlee kicked off hard, immediately extending his flaming leg, the fiery foot heading straight towards Luxray, the electric lion roared in anticipation. "Luxray!" the gleam eyes Pokemon cried out, as electricity starting shooting out of his jaws. Then, with full force, Hitmonlee's foot approached, and then Luxray lunged forward, biting down with his electricity-covered fangs. The electric lion grunted in pain from the Blaze Kick, but Clemont could see clearly that Hitmonlee felt the effect of Thunder Fang as well. Its eyes were narrowed as it grimaced in pain.

"Now, use Electric Terrain, before tossing him forward and using Wild Charge!" Clemont yelled, fists clenched in anticipation for the attack. He could see Hitmonlee trying to break free, even attempting to kick Luxray with his free leg. However, the electricity shooting out across him from the Thunder Fang attack seemed to weaken his attempts, and Clemont could see that very little was happening with each kick, and that Hitmonlee was growing weaker and weaker.

Luxray could see this too, clearly, as stood up straight, and immediately answered Clemont's order. He gave a muffled roar, and then electricity starting shooting out from his body and it quickly began to spread along the field. Sparks of electricity seemed to dance along the dirt and Luxray seemed to be getting an extra boost from it. Clemont then nodded, despite Luxray not looking at him, and then the gleam eyes Pokemon acted on his next order. He pulled back his head, Hitmonlee's body jerking back from the movement, and then swung forward, releasing the fighting type and sending it soaring through the air. Luxray moved quickly, though, desperate to hit with full force as soon as possible. He charged forward, his body engulfed in electricity, and he closed the gap in a second, slamming hard into Hitmonlee.

The fighting type grunted in pain, and was then sent crashing along the ground, his opponent leaping back in satisfaction before panting from the recoil. Clemont watched closely as Hitmonlee struggled to rise from the ground, however, it was clearly too much. With one last push, he managed to get to one knee, but then his eyes rolled up, and he collapsed.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle! Luxray is the winner!" Clembot declared, waving an arm to Clemont and Luxray, somehow sounding excited despite being a robot.

For a moment, Anton did nothing, staring at the scene in front of him, or so Clemont assumed, since he couldn't see the other trainer's eyes past his sunglasses. Finally, Anton raised up Hitmonlee's pokeball and returned it, before pulling out his second. "Not bad, I'll admit that," he muttered, holding up his next pokeball. "This battle ends now, though. I can't have you thinking you were close." He then threw out his pokeball, a smile coming to his face as he watched it soar out in front of him. "Scizor, go!"

With a bright flash of light, the red, bug and steel type Pokemon emerged, landing softly in front of Anton, and standing completely still, looking somewhat bored. It was a two-legged insectoid Pokemon with a red, metallic exoskeleton. On its back, were grey wings, which seemed to be retracting back and forth from his back. The most intimidating features were its angry, yellow eyes and the massive pincers that Clemont was fully aware, could do serious damage.

On Clembot's signal to resume the battle, Anton made the first move. "Bullet Punch," he ordered, smirking as he watched his Pokemon. Clemont didn't even have time to react. Before he could even realize what was happening, Scizor was in front of Luxray, his pincer held back like a fist, glowing in a bright, white light, before he thrust it forward, slamming it hard into Luxray's chest. The electric lion was launched through the air, shooting just past Clemont's left side, and he slammed hard into the wall behind the inventor.

"Luxray!" Clemont shouted in concern, turning with wide eyes to see the gleam eyes Pokemon struggling to his feet, but looking like it was taking every ounce of strength to do so.

"One more attack should do it, Scizor," Anton announced, and Clemont could hear the infuriating confidence in his opponent's voice. "Finish this with Fury Cut-"

At that moment, the doors to the gym right behind Anton swung open, revealing a girl with long, pink hair, a black tank top and a pink skirt. She looked to be about Clemont's age, thus a couple years younger than Anton appeared. Anton, spun around at the sound of the opening doors, and sighed loudly when he looked at the girl.

"What are you doing here, Gabby?" he asked, irritation evident in his voice. "I told you I was going to be busy today."

"I told you not to bother. You'll get your chance to battle in Lumiose City soon enough. We came here for a break, not to battle," the girl, Gabby, angrily retorted. "You are such an irritating brother, sometimes." Her eyes then moved to Clemont, who's eyes widened in shock at her stare. If she was Anton's sister, Clemont assumed she had the same manners. However, she just sighed and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry that my brother had to bother you. We're leaving now."

"I have a battle to finish," Anton argued, turning back to face Clemont, eyes moving towards his Scizor. "We're just about to win."

"No!" Gabby shouted, running forward and grabbing Anton's arm. "We're going now, whether you like it or not. Get Scizor back in his pokeball."

Anton paused a moment, glaring at his sister for a few seconds. Then, he finally just sighed, and then held up Scizor's pokeball. "Scizor, return," he muttered, before looking towards Clemont, his sister now letting him go. "You did fairly well, Clemont," he said, although his voice seemed somewhat mocking. "You're not a very good Gym Leader, but you did manage to surprise me a little."

Clemont didn't say anything in answer, and just watched in stunned silence as the two pink-haired siblings turned and made their way towards the doors of the gym. Anton entered through first, disappearing from sight, but Gabby stayed back a moment. "I guess we'll be seeing you again, soon." She smirked, before turning around and beginning to head through the door. "See you then."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Clemont asked, not understanding what she meant. It was too late, though, and Gabby and Anton were gone, leaving a shocked, tired and confused Clemont behind. _What was all that about?_ he asked himself, staring at the other end of the battlefield. He turned his head, and glanced towards Luxray, who was slowly limping towards his trainer, looking pretty badly beaten up after that strike from Scizor. "Hey, Luxray, you doing alright?" Clemont asked, kneeling down as Luxray reached him.

"Lux-luxray," Luxray croaked out, still panting a little.

Clemont nodded, pulling out Luxray's pokeball. "Take a long rest, Luxray. You deserve it." Luxray gave his trainer a grateful look, before he was recalled to the pokeball. He was clearly exhausted and Clemont could see why. Just from that short exchange with Scizor, Clemont could see just how powerful Anton was. Luxray was pretty much defeated by that one hit. _I really do need to get better,_ Clemont told himself, realizing he'd been pretty badly embarrassed by Anton. _And I will get better. Anton will see just exactly what Lumiose City has to offer._

* * *

Ash and Dawn got downstairs, just as Professor Oak, Gary and Greninja were coming through the door. Ash immediately rushed up to his Pokemon, holding him by the shoulders. "Greninja, are you alright?" he asked, eyes widening as he looked at the frog-ninja Pokemon.

"Ninja," Greninja croaked out, nodding. He then placed a webbed hand on Ash's chest. "Gren?" he asked, looking concerned himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash answered, laughing a little. "Especially if you're fine." He looked around Greninja, to where Gary and Oak were standing. "Thanks for helping Greninja out. Sorry I worried you."

Gary gave Ash a thumbs up, smiling as though it was no big deal. "It's all fine, Ashy boy. As long as you're good to go, now. That's all that matters."

"Ash," Professor Oak began, stepping forward so that he was standing next to both Ash and Greninja. He looked at the two of them, and then his eyes moved over towards Dawn. "I think we should talk. I have a proposition for you, and perhaps Dawn as well, that I think, considering what has happened, could be something you will find useful."

Ash exchanged a confused glance with Dawn, but then looked back at Professor Oak and nodded, a smile coming to his face. He had no idea what the old Pokemon researcher was talking about, but if he had an idea to help Ash with what was happening with Greninja, Ash was all ears. "Sure, Professor Oak, that sounds good to me."

"Well, you'll have to talk at the table. Ash needs to eat so that he can get his strength back," Delia's voice suddenly broke in, as she emerged from around a corner, holding a plate with a couple of sandwiches on it.

Ash nodded, having no issue with that, as he heard his stomach growl in agreement. He quickly followed his mother towards the dining room, everyone else following behind him. Ash quickly took a seat, Gary sitting next to him, Dawn and Oak sitting at the other end, while Delia sat at the head of the table. Greninja stood behind Ash, arms folded in a guard position. Ash didn't know if the frog-ninja Pokemon was nervous about sitting at the table like a human, or if he just didn't like to sit, period.

He was quickly distracted by this thought, though, as Professor Oak started speaking, clearly wanting to move along with what he wanted to discuss. "Ash, you were unable to get an opportunity to discuss your bond with Greninja to Professor Sycamore, correct?"

"Uh...no," Ash answered, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I probably could have at the Kalos League, but I got pretty busy with training. And...I guess I thought we weren't going to have any more issues with it. Ever since Snowbelle City, we've been able to control the form perfectly."

Oak nodded, looking as though he understood. "Well, I understand that, of course. And as you made it to the finals, I can see why you wouldn't have wanted to distract yourself. Although, you know better than most, that you can never assume you've learned everything there is to learn about Pokemon. Even more so with this bond with Greninja. There is a lot of mystery behind it. I think it would be wise to discuss it with Professor Sycamore."

"I guess that makes sense," Ash admitted, turning and looking at Greninja, who nodded in agreement. He then looked back at Professor Oak, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "Um...do you want me to call him?"

Oak shook his head, this time looking a little embarrassed himself. "Well, Ash, you see, Professor Sycamore actually called _me_ about this right after the Kalos League. He told me to make sure that you had a break, but that he was hoping to discuss the bond with you at some point." Oak paused, scratching his chin a bit as he considered what to say next. "He wasn't just calling about that, though. He was calling me about...a project he was working on. A project that I actually think you could make use of when it comes to this. You as well, Dawn," he said, giving the coordinator a quick look.

"What kind of project?" Ash asked, becoming interested. If it could help him and Greninja, and if it was something he could focus on until deciding what to do next, then maybe it was just what he needed.

"It's a school," Oak answered, watching Ash carefully, clearly interested to see the latter's reaction.

"A what?" Ash asked in surprise. That was probably the last thing he'd have expected Professor Oak to suggest. "Wait, you think I should go to...a school? Does Professor Sycamore think I should?"

"Well, I don't think the thought ever occurred to him," Oak said, smiling a little at Ash's shocked expression. "He wanted me to get in contact with a potential teacher for his school." He waved his hand dismissively and leaned forward. "That's not important right now, though. Ash, listen to me, I really think this school is a good opportunity for you."

"And me?" Dawn chimed in finally, seemingly only just coming to terms with the fact that Oak had suggested the idea to her as well. "Can you tell us what kind of school this is?"

"Right, I should probably get to that," Oak said, relaxing a bit in his chair. "Well, Professor Sycamore has been working on what is called, a Pokemon university. It is a school, for battlers, coordinators, performers and many other trainers hoping to pursue some kind of Pokemon profession. It's designed to give more of a social aspect to a Pokemon trainer's journey, as many people travel for long stretches, completely alone. It's a perfect place to grow as a trainer and person."

"And I could still battle if I went there?" Ash asked, having picked up on Professor Oak mentioning that the school had battling. "Are there good trainers there?"

"Yes and yes," Oak answered happily, seeming to pick up on Ash's interest. "Battling is a large focus of the school, as is coordinating," he gave Dawn a knowing look, "and also performing, which is somewhat like coordinating. There is even what is called, the Interschool Pokemon League," Oak explained, looking at Ash excitedly. "Many trainers that compete in that, go on to be some of the highest ranked trainers in Pokemon Leagues, Grand Festivals and Masterclass showcases."

Ash was surprised, but he was actually beginning to get excited by this idea. If he could get the opportunity to battle against strong trainers, maybe this would be a nice change. The kind of change he'd been wanting. There was, of course, one thing that concerned him. "So, if this is a school, does that mean I'd have to go to classes?"

"What do you think, Ashy boy?" Gary asked jokingly. "Schools have classes, so it's kind of part of the package."

"Hm..." Ash looked up at Pikachu on his shoulder. The electric mouse seemed to be having the same doubts as him. Sitting in a class seemed so out of place for the two of them. They were so used to always being on the move. Then again...they'd been hanging around with Professor Oak doing a lot of research activities lately. It wasn't exactly boring, and Ash did enjoy learning more about Pokemon. Maybe...maybe it made sense.

"I think it's an interesting opportunity, Ash," Delia suddenly said, bringing Ash's attention to her. "I...I've loved having you around the past month, but I know you. You want continue your journey and continue to grow. This might not be a typical journey, but I think it might just be the change in scenery that you need." She paused and glanced towards Greninja, before looking at Professor Oak. "Professor Sycamore can help with...what happened, right?"

Ash didn't say anything and looked at Professor Oak, waiting for his answer. Ash actually agreed with his mother that this school might be an interesting change of scenery, but he had the feeling she was more interested in having Professor Sycamore watch over him and Greninja. Finally, Professor Oak answered the question. "Oh yes, I believe that Ash, Greninja and Professor Sycamore would all benefit. This is why I suggest it, Ash. You can still battle, you can still train, you can work on this bond and you can have an entirely new experience altogether."

"I think it sounds kind of fun," Dawn chimed in, and Ash was surprised to see her looking excited, which seemed strange after her anguished look a few minutes ago. "I've been so torn on what to do next. And I think it's been the same for you, Ash. Obviously the idea of sitting in a classroom is kind of weird, but it's a school dedicated to Pokemon. There's no way it could be boring."

"Yeah, sounds kind of fun to me as well," Gary added, nodding at Dawn's words. "I don't think it's something for me, but when it comes to this Interschool Pokemon League, I think that's exactly the kind of thing you should get into, Ash. And haven't you said that travelling on your own gets kind of lonely. Tons of people will be there."

"Including me!" Dawn said enthusiastically. "I really like the sound of this. Maybe I can check out that performing stuff as well. Come on, Ash, it'll be fun. And this way, we'll have a friend there when we go."

Ash nodded, his mind going through all the different things that could happen if he went to a school. He knew he wouldn't be a perfect student, but he did know a lot about Pokemon, and was always interested in learning more about them. He smiled at Pikachu, who smiled back, showing he was warming to the idea as well. "Well...if you think it's a good idea, I guess I could give it a try. At least for now."

"Excellent!" Professor Oak exclaimed, pulling a pamphlet out of his coat pocket. He placed it on the table, his eyes shining with excitement. "Professor Sycamore will be ecstatic. Ash and Dawn, I think Lumiose University will be proud to have you."

Ash smiled, leaning forward and looking at the pamphlet. On the front, was a picture of Prism Tower, with a Luxray roaring in front of it. _Lumiose University_ , Ash read, _Join the Lumiose Luxrays and earn your degree in Pokemon!_ "The Lumiose Luxrays?"

"I believe that's their mascot," Professor Oak said with a laugh. "Each school has their own."

Ash chuckled a little at that, looking up at Dawn, who didn't seem too impressed. "Well, I guess we're about to become Lumiose Luxrays," Ash said jokingly.

 **Author's Note:**

Long chapter...wow. Anyways, hopefully it was good. Clemont's gym battle was obviously the focus. I had it interrupted, mainly because I didn't want to make it seem like I was setting up a Luxray/Scizor rivalry for the whole story. I've got another rivalry in mind which...is probably predictable. A couple of new faces showing up. Anton and Gabby (who's proper name is Gabrielle, but that's unimportant). Serena's role this chapter wasn't much, but I used her for explaining the IPL a bit more. Ash and Dawn have now been introduced to the school. Hopefully that was alright. With all these introductions, I was kind of lost on how to make it unique, so not too much to it, I guess. But, there's the Greninja factor playing into it, and Ash and Dawn wanting to change things up. Also, there's a minor thing Oak mentioned that you probably didn't pick up on, but that's good since it'll be surprising once you see.

So, about OC's. Obviously a couple were introduced this chapter. My plan is for the rival schools to have them, rather than characters from the anime, as I have a plan to bring in anime characters at a later time. Now, I've got most of these OC's figured out, but I do want to let you guys in on the fun. So, if you want to submit an OC, feel free to do so. I can't guarantee I'll use it. I want to make sure the personalities fit with what I've already got planned. Also, please only submit one, if you want to submit any. At least for now. Just so that if a lot of people submit them, more people can get involved. Remember, I can't guarantee that they'll be used, but if I can fit them in, I will. They could even be used as random students at Lumiose University if not rivals at other schools.

Anyways, with that I say goodbye. Hope you enjoyed. I'm so out of it that I'm not sure if this chapter was really good, or really bad. So...reviews can let me know, right? Hint hint.


	6. A Test on Day One

**Author's Note (SPOILER ALERT FOR XYZ 46)**

So, how is everyone doing? That episode was a tough one to take wasn't it? AHH! Greninja (and Goodra) gone. And next week isn't gonna be any easier. Well, the good news about all this, is that we have this, right here. Lumiose University, where Ash-Greninja and Serena are not disappearing.

This chapter was a fun one to write. I _really_ hope that the time skip worked out better with this chapter. There was nothing else to do with the in between stuff so we're really moving on, now. Some new characters introduced and some other fun stuff that I can't say because I don't want to spoil it.

 **Chapter 6: A Test on Day One**

Ash took a deep breath as he stared at his suitcase which was sitting open on top of his bed, his backpack right next to it. It had been a month since Professor Oak had suggested attending Lumiose University, and Ash had been preparing for it each and every day. Once Dawn had left to go back to Sinnoh, assuring Ash that she'd be seeing him in Kalos in a month, Ash had quickly set to work in getting ready. Professor Oak had shown him all the various classes he could be attending, and had explained that as it was a new school, Ash would have to do some kind of registration test when he arrived there to decide what kinds of classes he could attend.

Ash, forgetting his Kalos League loss for the time being, had assured Professor Oak that he'd probably be taking the toughest battling classes available, fully confident that whatever kind of test he'd have to take, would involve a battle, which he was sure he could win. "With Pikachu and Greninja, I'll have no problem," he confidently told the old Pokemon researcher.

Ash had decided he'd be going back to Kalos with just Pikachu and Greninja. He'd contacted Keanan a few days after Dawn had left, and had said his goodbyes to Goodra, who was now back in the Wetlands, protecting the wild Pokemon there. And Professor Oak had asked for Ash to leave Talonflame, Hawlucha and Noivern for the time being, so that he could continue researching the new Pokemon. Ash still planned to use Pokemon other than Pikachu and Greninja once he was at school, but he would call Professor Oak when he needed them.

"Wow, Pikachu," Ash said, taking a deep breath as he looked at his room. "It feels weird leaving, but you know, we've actually never stayed home this long before. Usually we would've already been off on another adventure."

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu said happily, nodding from Ash's shoulder. He then hopped off the bed and looked at the suitcase. Ash could tell his long time partner Pokemon was shocked at the need for a suitcase, and wanted to know why it was needed after years of travelling with just a backpack. "Pika?"

Ash just shrugged and smiled a little at the electric mouse. "Well, we're not travelling this time, right? We're gonna be living at the school, so might as well bring a bit more than what we usually have. And mom, well she won't stop bugging me about bringing clean underwear, so there's that, too."

As if she had heard him, Delia suddenly called up to Ash from downstairs where she was waiting in the living room. "Ash, it's time to go. Professor Oak is here. You don't want to miss your flight!"

"I'm coming!" Ash answered, smirking a little at Pikachu and then rushing forward and zipping up his suitcase. He took a quick glance at his backpack, and couldn't help but laugh, seeing that it now looked like a school backpack, stuffed with paper, notebooks, pens and pencils. He picked up the Poliwag pencil sharpener that was sitting on the top of the pile of school materials and looked at it closely. Something about that Poliwag seemed important.

"Ash, you need to hurry! We're already late!" Delia called again, interrupting Ash from his thoughts.

He quickly shook his head and stuffed the pencil sharpener back in the bag, and then zipped it up, throwing it over his shoulder. He then grabbed the suitcase and pulled it off the bed, Pikachu quickly hopping back up onto his shoulder at the same time. He quickly made his way over to the door of his room, took one quick look back, and then hurried down the hall and downstairs.

Once he was downstairs, Ash could hear Professor Oak's voice, and he quickly rushed into the living room, and saw the Pokemon researcher talking with his mother. "Hey Professor Oak," Ash greeted quickly, adjusting his backpack. "I'm all set."

"Hello Ash!" Oak said happily, turning towards him. "I must say, I never thought I'd see you all ready to go to school." He chuckled a little, exchanging an amused glance with Delia. "It's amazing you stuck around long enough for me to even ask you about this."

"Yeah," Ash said, nodding in agreement, as Oak and Delia started moving towards the front entrance so that they could leave. "I'm looking forward to changing things up a bit, though. And you said Professor Sycamore is glad to have me?"

"Oh yes!" Oak assured him, as the trio exited the house, Delia staying at the door to lock up, while Ash and the professor made their way to the car. "When I told him you were interested in attending, he thought I was joking, because he thought it was too good to be true. He thinks you'll do very well, and that there is definitely a lot for you to learn there, despite your already successful training career."

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, smiling up at Pikachu on his shoulder, who looked just as happy as he felt hearing that.

They quickly loaded Ash's suitcase into the car and then, with one last look at the house, Ash, Oak and Delia all got in, and they were on the road to Viridian City to get the flight. Ash would have been fine with walking, but since he was bringing more with him on this journey, Oak had insisted on driving him to the airport. He seemed quite enthusiastic about it, as though he'd been looking forward to it.

Ash took a deep breath as they began to drive down the road that would lead them out of Pallet Town. He'd enjoyed his little break, and he was definitely going to miss being there, along with all of his Pokemon. However, he really was excited about this new opportunity. Sure, he'd never imagined going to a school before. At least, not as a full time thing. But, from what Professor Oak had described and from what he'd seen about how the school had been set up so far, it looked like a new challenge that he'd be able learn from. And he liked the idea of being around more people. There had been times throughout his journey where he'd felt down after losing a battle, and despite the best efforts of his Pokemon, Ash had had difficulty in bouncing back. Getting to know people, such as Dawn, who had gone through similar experiences was something he was hoping would be able to help him grow as a trainer.

As the drive continued, Ash stared out the window and watched some of the sights that he had seen when he'd first started his journey. He looked into the sky, and could tell Pikachu was doing so as well, wondering, even if it was highly unlikely, if he would spot Ho-oh up in the clouds. There was no sign of the legendary Pokemon, though, and Ash moved his gaze back down, and just watched as they passed the trees and wild Pokemon on the ground.

After about a half an hour, the trees began to thin out, and Ash knew that they were probably getting close to Viridian City. It seemed so bizarre to him that it had taken him so long to walk there on the first day of his journey, when a drive was so fast. _I needed that walk, though,_ Ash thought, thinking back to that day. _Pikachu and I became best friends because of it._

"Oh, Ash," Professor Oak suddenly spoke up, sounding quite excited. "I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you. You'll be meeting up with one of your teachers today. I believe she's booked on the same flight as you are."

"Really?" Ash asked, only just now remembering that Oak had mentioned something about Professor Sycamore asking him to recruit a teacher. "Who is it?"

"Oh you know her," Oak answered, chuckling a little. "She's a good friend of mine, and I remember her getting all excited about that battle you and she had. 'I've never battled such an excited trainer,' she told me." He started laughing, and Ash exchanged a glance with his mom, who was also clearly confused about this. Ash had battled a lot of people, so he didn't really know who Professor Oak could be talking about. "Don't worry, Ash, you'll see her soon enough," Oak finally said, as Viridian City came into view in front of them.

Ash just shook his head, deciding not to bother push it. He'd figure it out soon enough, as Oak had said. As they drove into Viridian City, Ash could see people busily going about their day. He even saw a trainer, maybe a couple years younger than him with a Wartortle next to him, who seemed to be heading towards the Viridian Gym. Ash realized he still didn't know who was running that gym these days. He only knew that Agatha, from the Elite Four, had been substituting for a few days back when he'd arrived from Hoenn. He smiled to himself at the memory of battling her. He hadn't even known she was an Elite Four member at the time, and he and Pikachu had done pretty well.

A few minutes later, Ash could see the airport up ahead, and noticed that Professor Oak was searching for somewhere to park. Eventually, he got lucky and found a spot reasonably close, and within a couple of minutes, Ash was pulling along his suitcase, Professor Oak and his mother walking along behind him, as they entered the airport.

It wasn't the biggest airport in the world, but whenever Ash was inside of it, he always felt pretty small, with all the people running around and the monitors showing all the different flights that were leaving. He glanced up at one of the monitors and noticed that he had about forty minutes before his flight left, but that he'd need to get moving pretty soon if he wanted to board in good time.

Ash was about to turn and tell Oak and Delia this, when he suddenly heard the old professor exclaim excitedly. "Oh! There she is! Agatha, over here!"

Considering Ash had been thinking about Agatha only a few minutes before, the sound of her name should have made him realize who Oak was talking to, but when he turned in the direction of where Oak was looking, Ash was still surprised at who approached. It was definitely none other than Agatha of the Elite Four, recognizable by her greying blonde hair and purple dress that gave her a somewhat ghostly look, which fit with her ghost type Pokemon of course. She approached slowly, her wooden walking stick clapping against the floor of the airport as she walked. She smirked a little at the sight of Ash and gave him a small nod, before coming to a stop in front of Professor Oak.

"Well, hello Samuel," she muttered quietly, eyes narrowed at the Pokemon researcher. "Here to see me off, or just for Ketchum."

"I'm here to see both of you off!" Oak assured her, smiling. He turned to Delia and gestured to her. "Agatha, I'd like to introduce you to Ash's mother, Delia. And Delia, this is Agatha, a member of the Elite Four."

"Hm...nice to meet you, Delia," Agatha croaked, before looking to Ash. "You've raised quite the young man, here. I haven't seen Ash in a few years, but I'll tell you, that was a fun battle we had. My Gengar was barely able to pull off that win and that rarely happens."

Delia smiled, looking proudly at Ash, who rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, not expecting to have received that kind of praise. "Yes, I'm definitely proud of Ash. He's worked very hard to be where he's at now. I assume you heard how he did at the Kalos League."

"Oh yes!" Agatha answered excitedly, leaning forward towards Ash. "Those damn Charizards are so bloody stubborn aren't they?"

"Haha, yeah they sure are!" Ash agreed, chuckling and starting to feel a little more comfortable. Agatha appeared rough around the edges, but he'd forgotten that she was actually pretty nice. "I know that from experience. It took me almost a year just to get mine to listen to me."

"Well, with my teaching, that Greninja of yours is going to be able to beat any Charizard, whether they're black, blue, orange or any colour. What was that nonsense called? Mega evolution?" Ash smiled at the thought of Agatha standing in front of a bunch of students, teaching them about...whatever she'd be teaching. _This is already getting interesting,_ he thought.

"I wouldn't call it nonsense, Agatha," Oak argued, exchanging a look with Ash, looking slightly unimpressed. "If I'm not mistaken, Gengar can mega evolve. I'm sure yours would be quite the force to be reckoned with if it mega evolved."

"Nonsense!" Agatha snapped, waving her hand to dismiss Oak's words. "Gengar doesn't need that fancy stuff." She started muttering about the 'good old days' where trainers would fight without any fancy stones and just relied on their Pokemon and their willpower to win battles. He was starting to get lost in the argument, until suddenly his mother signalled for him to move away, clearly wanting to talk.

Once they were a little ways away from Oak and Agatha, Delia stopped and turned towards Ash. "Well, Ash, it looks like it's time to say goodbye again." She didn't look too sad, but Ash knew that every time he left, it was pretty hard on his mother. Not to mention, he often left so quickly, so now that he was leaving after spending quite a bit of time with her, she would probably miss him even more.

"I guess so," Ash said sadly, realizing that he was actually a little more sad than usual about leaving, despite his excitement. "But, hey, I can come home for breaks, right? That's something I haven't really been able to on my journeys."

Delia nodded at that, smiling at the thought, apparently already excited for it. Her eyes then widened and she quickly reached into her pocket. "Oh, I almost forgot, I think Dawn must have left this. I saw that it was in your room." She pulled out a little yellow box, that Ash immediately recognized as the one that held the blue ribbon he'd won in Coumarine City.

"Uh...oh that's actually mine," Ash said, taking the box as his mother handed it to him. "I won it for being a special customer in Coumarine City or something like that. I've never had any use for it, though." He shrugged and held the ribbon back up to his mother. "You can have it if you want."

Delia shook her head, looking like she was trying to hold back a smile. "Oh no, Ash, keep it. I don't have any need for it." Ash didn't bother protesting and quickly put the box in his bag. Once he'd done that, he looked back at his mother, who was smiling sadly at him. "Well, Ash, I guess it's time for you to go." She glanced upwards, and Ash noticed she was looking towards Professor Oak and Agatha, who were now apparently waiting for him. "Good luck," Delia said quickly. "I'm sure you'll do great."

* * *

Dawn had never imagined that the past month would have gone by as quickly as it did. Ever since she and Ash had agreed with Professor Oak's idea to enrol in Lumiose University, time had really flown by, and she'd been hard at work getting ready. Her plan to leave Pallet Town had suddenly become a much less worrisome idea, as she knew that with her change in plans, she was going to be seeing Ash again quite soon. So, within a few days, she said her goodbyes to her hosts of the previous month, and had set off back to Sinnoh, arriving home to inform her mother of her plan to go to school.

Dawn had predicted that her mother would be surprised by her sudden change in plans. Or at least, her change in direction for how she planned on becoming a Top Coordinator, and she was right. When she had arrived home after her long journey in Kanto, Dawn had talked about Professor Sycamore's offer, and how she saw it as a great opportunity to improve as a coordinator.

"Well, Dawn, you know I can help you out anytime you want," Johanna had said, sounding a little hesitant about the idea. "I do teach a lot of aspiring coordinators, you know."

Dawn had been worried that her mother would say that, and had already formed an argument against it. "But mom, don't you think it would be better if I didn't rely on you? I want to do this my own way. This is something new for me. I really want to try it."

"I don't know, Dawn, I've seen some of these schools. There's one in Jubilife City, and the coordinators it produces are definitely good, but I feel as though you can do better." It was clear that Johanna wasn't a fan of the idea, and was against the whole "school" idea.

Dawn narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her mother, who had been avoiding eye contact, absentmindedly petting her Glameow and staring around her living room. "I'm not you, mom. I know you did it by yourself and went on a journey, but I think this is a good opportunity. I've worked hard while travelling, and I think this is the right move. And I can't stay here and become too dependent on you. I need to get better by myself and I need to learn from others as well. Just knowing about contests isn't going to make me better. I need to get better with other things as well. I need to know how other people bring out the best in their Pokemon."

"Such as this boy you met? Ash?" Johanna asked, finally turning her gaze towards Dawn. "You think a battler can help you?"

"Why not? Battles are still in contests. They might work a little differently, but they're still battles. And Ash knows a lot about Pokemon even outside of battles. I'm sure the teachers at the school know just as much." Dawn clenched her fists and looked pleadingly at her mother. "Please, I think this is the best thing for me."

Eventually Johanna had agreed and after a month of Dawn excitedly talking about the university, the retired coordinator had even started to grow to like the idea. She'd even helped Dawn pick some possible classes, and they'd discussed what the mysterious testing procedures would be once she got there. Professor Oak had mentioned there would be some kind of test, but once Dawn was fully registered by the next week, she'd gotten some information that told her it was likely going to involve doing coordinating and battling. She didn't have a problem with that, as she felt that she'd done pretty well since working with Ash, and she was pretty confident that despite having setbacks, she was still quite a capable coordinator, and should be able to pass the test.

The planning and preparation had made the time go by really fast. Sure, Dawn had been a bit lonely once leaving Pallet Town, but she and Ash had known they'd be seeing each other soon, and after a few days, she was just focused on getting ready, quickly realizing that a month wasn't that much time to prepare herself. She was hard at work each day, getting materials for school, getting her performance outfits ready and training her Pokemon. Once the month had ended, it had almost seemed like it was only a few days, and Dawn could barely believe she was about to head off to a school in an unfamiliar region.

And finally, the day had come, where she was actually setting off, once again, to work towards her dream of becoming a Top Coordinator. She and her mother were currently sitting on a bench at the Jubilife Airport, as they had arrived early since Johanna was worried that Dawn would miss her plane and had told her an earlier time than it was actually coming. Dawn didn't complain, though, as she was too excited. She was nervous, of course, but the excitement of going to a new region, competing in the school coordinator competition and seeing Ash and meeting a bunch of new trainers; it all made her want to jump up and down.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Dawn?" Johanna asked, looking at the bouncing Dawn next to her, Piplup squirming uncomfortably in her lap.

"Yeah, no need to worry, mom, I'm all set and ready to go!" Dawn exclaimed, holding up Piplup and looking him in the eyes. "Right, Piplup? You're ready as well, aren't you?"

The little, blue penguin Pokemon glared at her a moment, still unhappy with being bounced around on her lap, but eventually he relented and looked excitedly back. "Pip-piplup!" he squeaked happily.

"Dawn," Johanna said, sounding exasperated, "when you tell me not to worry, that's when I worry the most."

"Well then maybe you should listen to me and not worry when I tell you not to," Dawn retorted, smirking a little. She could tell that both her excitement and her nerves were making her a little giddy, but she couldn't control it. This was something that was _very_ new to her.

Suddenly, Dawn heard some gasps from a few people who were standing a few feet away from them, who were in a line to check in for their flight. They were looking towards the entrance and muttering excitedly as the glass doors opened. Dawn followed their gazes, unsure of what they were so excited about. All she could see, was a man with red hair in an Afro, entering the airport. He had a yellow shirt and baggy grey pants. She realized after a moment that he looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't think of who he was.

As she was looking over at the man, he turned from where he had entered, and began to walk in the direction of Dawn and her mother. His eyes drifted around the airport and Dawn could see that he looked somewhat confused. Eventually his gaze moved towards Dawn, and her eyes widened a bit as she realized she was still staring and he'd noticed. It didn't help when he immediately started walking towards her and her mother.

"Hi there!" the man greeted excitedly, coming to a stop in front of Dawn and Johanna. "Are you two catching a flight here?"

Dawn waited for her mother to answer, as she realized that she was tongue-tied with embarrassment for her staring and was worried that this man was coming to confront her about it. _It was only because other people were staring,_ Dawn thought bitterly. When she noticed that no sound seemed to be coming from her mother, Dawn turned her head, and noticed that Johanna was staring at the man much like the other people had been doing, looking completely stunned. The younger coordinator managed to regain her composure, knowing that she definitely didn't want to look the way her mother looked at the moment. She glanced up at the man, who was waiting patiently, smiling. "Yeah. Well, I am, my mom is just waiting with me."

"Oh, well, maybe you can help me out then?" the redhead asked, glancing around the airport in confusion once again. "See, I've never used this airport before. Usually when I need to take a flight, I use the Sunyshore City Airport, but this one was closer for me today. I'm looking for the flight to Lumiose City, in the Kalos region."

"Lumiose City?" Johanna suddenly asked, startling both Dawn and the man a little bit with her sudden speaking. "Why would a Sinnoh Elite Four member be going to Lumiose City?"

"Elite Four?" Dawn asked in surprise, looking at the man with wide eyes. Suddenly it all seemed to click, and she realized why he had looked kind of familiar. She knew enough about Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, but she rarely paid any attention to the Elite Four members. However, she remembered a few years back, that one of them had actually challenged Cynthia to a battle. "Your name is Flint, right?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," the man, Flint, said, laughing from embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm Flint. Flint of the Sinnoh Elite Four. You probably recognize me as the guy who challenged Cynthia for her title and then got whooped by her Garchomp." He sounded like he was joking, but Dawn could see there was the slightest hint of disappointment in his eyes as he said this. Clearly his loss still troubled him.

"Yeah, I remember hearing about that," Dawn said, smiling a little, glancing at her mother who still seemed a little surprised that they were talking to an Elite Four member. She didn't understand why her mother would be so shocked, as she was somewhat of a celebrity as well, but Dawn ignored it for the time being. "I'm Dawn by the way, and this is my mom, Johanna and my partner, Piplup." She and her mom quickly shook hands with Flint, while Piplup squeaked out a greeting, and then Dawn looked towards one of the monitors, checking the time of their flight. "Anyways, I'm going to Lumiose City as well. We can go to the plane together. Have you already booked in?"

Flint nodded, holding up a ticket. "Yep, I'm all set. Phew...good thing I won't need to run around the airport looking for my flight."

"Um, excuse me, but you never answered my question," Johanna spoke up, looking at Flint curiously. "Why are you going to Lumiose City? Did Champion Cynthia ask you to go?"

"Yes, actually, she did," Flint said with a nod, looking over to Dawn, and glancing at her suitcase and backpack. "I think we'll be heading to the Kalos region for the same reason if I'm not mistaken, Dawn." He nodded towards all of her belongings. "Lumiose University?" he asked with a smirk.

Dawn gaped at him, shocked that he even knew what Lumiose University was, and even more so that he appeared to be going there for some reason. "What? Why are you going there?" she asked, exchanging a shocked look with her mother.

"Ever since I lost to Cynthia...well...my battling hasn't exactly been in top form." Flint paused, thinking a moment, but then shrugged and continued on. "See, she was notified by Professor Rowan that Professor Sycamore in Kalos, was searching for potential teachers for his school. That's when she came to me. Cynthia believes that by guiding others into the world of Pokemon, I can find my old self again. She said something about 'when one life meets another, something will be born' and explained that by helping aspiring trainers, I can figure out more about myself." He shrugged, holding up his hands like the thought was still crazy to him. "It seemed crazy to me, but hey, it's worth a shot. And maybe I can learn more about this mega evolution stuff that Professor Sycamore is so knowledgeable about. That'd be a nice surprise for Cynthia in our next battle."

"So you're going to be a teacher? But don't you have duties here in Sinnoh?" Dawn asked, hardly believing what she was hearing. For a school that had barely opened up, getting an Elite Four member to teach for them was not a bad way to start.

"Oh, well, Volkner, the Sunyshore City Gym Leader, will substitute in some cases, and I'll also travel back once in a while." Flint didn't seem to be too bothered by the issue. If anything, he seemed perfectly fine leaving his duties for a while. Dawn realized that it was probably a pretty taxing job, and that maybe this would be somewhat of a break for him.

"Well, Dawn, I must say that if you have an Elite Four member teaching you, you're quite fortunate," Johanna chimed in, looking at Dawn happily. "Even though Flint battles differently, he can still teach you a great deal." She then glanced up, and Dawn followed her gaze towards the monitors, which showed that it was about time to board the plane. "It looks like it's time to say goodbye," she finally said, sounding a bit sad.

Dawn couldn't help but feel a little guilty. After spending so much time on her journey, she'd gone and stayed in Pallet Town for a month, and had been busy the entire time she'd been with her mother. Johanna gave her an encouraging smile, though, signalling that this time, it was Dawn that had no need to worry. "Yeah, I guess it's time to say goodbye," she finally agreed. She placed Piplup down next to her, and then leaned forward and hugged her mother, before getting up and shouldering her backpack, and picking up her suitcase. "No need to worry, right, mom?"

"That's right, no need to worry," Johanna agreed, winking. "Watch out for her, Flint, please?"

"You got it!" Flint assured her, giving her a wave and then gesturing for Dawn to lead the way.

As she started to walk away from her mother, heading towards the boarding for her flight, Dawn looked down at Piplup who was waddling along beside her. This school was definitely going to be interesting. If they'd managed to hire an Elite Four member as a teacher, they weren't fooling around. _Maybe that test is going to be harder than I thought._

* * *

"Will you please take care of my brother? How about _you_? Will _you_ take care of my brother? Hey, didn't you hear me?" Clemont groaned as he walked into the registration building with both his dad, and his very annoying sister. The day was finally here. The grand opening of Lumiose University. There were already dozens of students cramming into the registration building, despite it having just opened, and Clemont could see there was going to be no issue with lack of students. And in Bonnie's mind, there was no issue with lack of possible future wives. "Can _you_ take care of my brother?" she asked again, as a brown-haired girl walked past, giggling as Bonnie gestured to the blushing Clemont.

"Bonnie!" Clemont yelled, running over to his sister with surprising speed, especially for him, and pulling her back. He didn't bother with his Aipom Arm, as he felt more comfortable holding Bonnie back himself. "I've told you a million times not to do that! I don't need you to go asking every girl we see to be my wife."

"But Clemont," Bonnie whined, attempting unsuccessfully to squirm her way out of his grasp, "you need a nice girl to take care of you. You won't have me here to help you at the school."

"Ne-ne-ne!" Dedenne chirped in agreement, the electric/fairy type looking quite amused by the whole situation.

Meyer cleared his throat and Clemont and Bonnie both looked up at him, both clearly hoping he was going to scold the other. Unfortunately for Clemont, his dad appeared to be on Bonnie's side. "Now, now, Clemont, Bonnie is just trying to help you out. You can't be upset about that. There are plenty of pretty girls, here. I'm sure we can find one that's right for you. See anyone else, Bonnie?"

Clemont groaned again as Bonnie broke free of his grip and ran a few feet ahead, peering around to see if she could spot anyone. Dedenne appeared to be doing the same from the top of her head. Suddenly, they both stopped, and Bonnie turned excitedly to Clemont and Meyer. "Oh my Arceus!" she shouted out, jumping up and down. "Dad, Clemont, look!" she pointed towards the doors of the building, where two girls were coming in. One with honey-blonde hair and the other a brunette. Clemont instantly recognized them from their meeting a month ago, which he'd somewhat pushed out of his mind considering he'd had that run-in with that rude challenger right after. It was Serena and Shauna, and apparently, one or both of them would be Bonnie's next target.

"Bonnie, hold on!" Clemont shouted, starting to run after his sister as she bolted away. Unfortunately, his previous burst of speed made him much too slow for this attempt. By the time he made it over, hands on his knees as he bent over, panting, Bonnie was in front of Serena.

"Will you please take care of my brother?" she pleaded, kneeling down and holding up her hand. "He's really good at science and he helped set up this whole school."

"Clemont?" Serena asked, looking away from Bonnie and towards the panting inventor. He looked up after a few more deep breaths, noticing that both Serena and Shauna were smiling excitedly, apparently glad to see him. "I was hoping we'd run into you!"

"You know her?" Bonnie shrieked, jumping up and looking at Clemont in shock. "Do you know who this is, Clemont? Do you know who both of them are?" She gestured wildly to the two stunned girls, eyes wide with shock.

Clemont rolled his eyes and then nodded. "Yes, Bonnie, I know who they are. I met them last month after doing some work with Professor Sycamore.

Bonnie looked somewhat irritated that Clemont had never mentioned this, but she quickly recovered. Unfortunately, her irritated look, quickly became replaced by a wicked grin. "So...does that mean you like them?" She again knelt down in front of the two girls, this time looking at Shauna. "Please take care of him! He likes you! I know he does!"

Shauna just giggled and exchanged a look with an amused looking Serena, before turning her attention back to Bonnie. "Sorry, um, Bonnie, right?" Bonnie nodded, still looking pleadingly up at Shauna. "Well, see, we don't know Clemont very well, so maybe we'll hold off on that for the time being. But don't worry, we'll make sure he doesn't get in trouble while we're here, okay?"

Bonnie's shoulders slumped a little at that, clearly having hoped Shauna was going to declare her love for Clemont right then and there. However, she quickly recovered. "I guess that's the best he'll get right now." She turned back to Clemont and stood back up, walking over to him and shrugging. "I did what I could, big brother."

Clemont just shook his head, and stood up straighter as Serena and Shauna made their way over to him, trying not to let the embarrassment get to him. "So," Serena said, glancing around the lobby they were in, that was packed full of students waiting to get registered, "do you know what's going on here, Clemont?"

"Um...yeah, well, sort of," Clemont answered, nodding and turning his head towards the walls behind the many desks set up on one side of the lobby. There were about twenty doors, which he knew led to twenty different battlefields. ten of them for battle testing and ten of them for performance testing. "Registration will begin with a screening battle, which will either be a regular one, with Pokemon League rules, or an appeals battle, with contest rules. Those who want to take battle courses specifically, will register for regular battles, while coordinators and performers will register for appeals battles."

"Oh..." Serena looked slightly disappointed, no, slightly worried and exchanged a nervous glance with Shauna. "I'm not very experienced with battling, you know. I thought I would just have to do a performance."

"Don't worry about, that," Clemont said, understanding her concern. He knew that a lot of performers would be wondering about that, so he'd ensured that the set up was very simple for them. "My Clembot software will be adjusted for performers' battle experience. He will focus on how well you work with your Pokemon and what kinds of acts they can perform, but it will just be in a battle setting. And we aren't doing double battles, so it shouldn't be too difficult, even if you aren't much of a battler."

"When does this start, anyway?" Shauna asked, looking towards the doors as though that would make them open.

"Well, Professor Sycamore was going to have a demonstration, I think," Clemont answered, still unsure of where the professor was. Clemont hadn't seen him since the day before, when they'd tested the systems out to make sure it was all running smoothly.

"Professor Sycamore is over there with our dad," Bonnie suddenly said, pointing back to where they had come from. Clemont followed where she was pointing and noticed his sister was right. Meyer hadn't followed them over here, and was in the middle of talking to Professor Sycamore, who had seemingly come out of nowhere. It seemed like whatever they were talking about was very interesting to Professor Sycamore, as his eyes were wide with interest and he kept nodding at whatever Meyer was saying.

Clemont nodded as Bonnie started heading back, and then gestured for Serena and Shauna to follow, and then the four of them made their way over. Once Meyer and Sycamore noticed the group approaching them, they stopped talking, and Sycamore smiled happily at the three students. "Well hello there, Clemont. And you too, Shauna and Serena. How are Braixen and Ivysaur?"

"Braixen's really good!" Serena informed him happily. "She's really excited about the school."

"Yeah, Ivysaur as well," Shauna added, smiling as she held up a pokeball. "She's ready to win the IPL for Lumiose University."

Sycamore nodded, eyes shining with excitement at those words. "I'm sure Braixen and Ivysaur will make Lumiose University an instant favourite. As will you two, being the excellent performers that you are." He then turned his gaze to Clemont, and smiled, somehow looking even more excited. "Now, Clemont, about that demonstration I was hoping to have. How would you feel about showing the students how this is all going to work?"

"What? Me?" Clemont stared back, completely stunned. "But...I thought _you_ were going to demonstrate."

"I think the students would feel more comfortable seeing one of their peers doing the test. And, since you designed it, I think it would only be fitting." Sycamore raised his eyebrows, waiting patiently for Clemont's answer.

Clemont definitely didn't feel comfortable about it. Sure, he understood Sycamore's point that it would probably help put the students at ease if they could see one of their peers doing the test before them, but he was a little uneasy about battling in front of so many people. He instantly attempted a lame excuse. "Well...not everyone is here, yet. Maybe we should wait."

"Those who arrive later will be able to view the students that have arrived early," Sycamore explained, smiling, clearly noticing Clemont's nervousness. "Don't worry, Clemont, you'll be fine. Come on, follow me." He then held up his hands as he started walking towards the tenth door from the left, which was in the middle of the lobby. "Everyone, please follow me in an orderly fashion. We will be holding a demonstration screening test in Battle Room Ten."

As they followed Professor Sycamore, Clemont couldn't help but notice all the faces heading in their directions and all the excited whispers of the students. He turned to his left, feeling a heavy hand on his shoulder, and noticed his dad walking alongside him. "Don't be nervous, Clemont," he said calmly. "You're a gym leader. There are probably very few students who would be able to beat Clembot, let alone you. You'll be fine."

"And maybe you'll impress a nice girl, like Shauna or Serena," Bonnie added, showing that she'd been eavesdropping.

"Yeah, that too," Meyer agreed, chuckling as he noticed Clemont blush and look away in frustration.

After a few minutes, all the students that had shown up for the morning registration were crammed in the stands along the sides of the battlefield, which was a near perfect copy of his own Lumiose Gym battlefield. It was lit up a little more, but it had the same dirt field and one of the many new Clembots stood at the other end, waiting for his opponent.

Sycamore approached the middle of the field, while Clemont took his place on his side of the field, reaching down and pulling out his pokeball of choice for the battle. "Now, everyone, the screening battles are quite simple. Based on each student's individual battle, contest or performance record and statistics, Clembot will suggest a battle rating for you to battle against it with. For example, Clemont, here, is a gym leader, so his battle rating has been suggested as four stars, for the advanced classes. If he wins the battle, he will be accepted into the advanced battle courses. If he loses, however, he will have to battle at a lower level, which would put him in the intermediate classes. If you are unable to defeat the lowest skill level, do not fret, because all are accepted into beginners classes if they wish to do so." Sycamore paused here, looking around to see if anyone had any questions. When no one spoke, he turned to Clemont. "Clemont, I suppose it's time for you to shine, then," he said jokingly, and then made his way over to the sidelines.

 _Here we go,_ Clemont thought, looking ahead towards Clembot, who stared back blankly. A screen above him showed four golden stars, signalling it would be a four star match, for the advanced courses. _Well, this is what I came here for. I might as well show that I can do it._ He finally held up his pokeball and threw it forward. "Bunnelby, let's go!" he shouted, as the pokeball soared forward and then flashed open, before revealing the rabbit Pokemon in front of Clemont.

Clemont watched his robot opponent carefully. He knew what would happen next, and was curious how it would work, as it was somewhat random. "Normal type Pokemon are weak against fighting type Pokemon," Clembot announced, holding up a metallic arm. "Machoke, go!" he shouted, as a pokeball was fired out of his arm like a cannon. With a flash of light, the grey-skinned bulky, humanoid Pokemon emerged, flexing his muscles as he stood up straighter, looking across at Bunnelby. Clemont narrowed his eyes. With Sycamore's connections, he was able to acquire a wide range of Pokemon for the screening battles that were well trained and were from a wide range of skill levels and types. And since Clemont was fighting the advanced program, he had to battle with the type disadvantage. _Another fighting type, too. Hopefully he's not as strong as Anton's Hitmonlee._

Whether it was or not didn't seem to matter, because Clemont had to fight now. At least, according to Professor Sycamore he did. "Let the battle begin!" the professor shouted from his spot on the sidelines, and immediately, Clembot made his first order.

* * *

When Serena had agreed to go to Lumiose University, she definitely hadn't expected she'd have to be battling so fast. In fact, her past month had been all about preparing performance routines, ensuring she had the right performance outfits, making sure her Pokemon were well groomed and healthy. Her mother had suggested that she do a little bit of preparation for battling, as it was clearly an important part of the school, but Serena had gone on assuming she wouldn't have to deal with it.

So, after arriving this morning, after an early morning in which she and her mother had set off from Vaniville Town at the crack of dawn, Serena had definitely not been too pleased to find out she'd been ill-prepared. And, the way the battle was starting off so quickly, Serena was feeling even more uneasy.

"Machoke, use Focus Blast!" Clembot ordered, immediately after Professor Sycamore called for the match to begin. Serena watched closely from her place in the stands, seeing the fighting type form the orb of yellow energy within his hands, and then thrust them outwards, aiming the attack right at Bunnelby.

Clemont wasn't going to let his Pokemon get hit that easily, though, and quickly called out an order for Bunnelby. "Quick, dodge it by using Dig!" he shouted, pointing forward and then down as he made the order.

As the orb of yellow energy fired towards Bunnelby, he quickly ducked low, and rapidly started spinning his ears like a drill, aiming them straight down to the ground, which instantly broke apart on contact with the ears. The Focus Blast shot past as Bunnelby burrowed underground, and it exploded a few feet behind the hole, shooting up a small cloud of dust.

"Wow, this is off to a quick start," Serena said, glancing to her left, and noticing Shauna watching the battle closely, obviously hoping to get some ideas for her own battle which she would have to fight later. "I don't think I'm ready for this."

"You'll be fine," Shauna assured her, leaning forward in interest as they watched Bunnelby shoot up from the ground, driving his whole body into Machoke's chest, before Clemont quickly ordered a Double Slap, and the digging Pokemon quickly slapped one ear against Machoke's face, before hitting him in the chest with the other, and then leaping back in preparation for his next order. "See, look at Clemont. He was nervous, but he's starting off really well."

Serena nodded, unable to deny that. Things were definitely looking pretty good for Clemont so far, having already dodged that Focus Blast, and then landing a few quick hits. Clembot was already making his counter, though. "Machoke, use Bulk Up. Increase your attack and defence power. Then do it a second time."

"Ma-machoke!" Machoke exclaimed, spreading out his arms and widening his stance. "MACHOKE!" he bellowed, as his muscles began to bulge out even further from his already bulky form.

"It doesn't matter!" Clemont shouted, as Bunnelby braced himself for another attack. "Bunnelby, use Mud Shot!"

"Bunnel!" Bunnelby shouted in agreement, leaping into the air while Machoke continued to flex his muscles, face strained as he tried to increase his power more and more.

"Bulk Up again!" Clembot ordered, ignoring Bunnelby as the three orbs of dirt formed over his head and above his ears.

Serena was shocked at how loyal Machoke was being to the robot, as it seemed to trust the plan that Clembot had in place. "Clembot's up to something," she whispered, as she watched Bunnelby's Mud Shot shoot forward and slam into the continuously flexing Machoke, who grunted in pain with the three separate puffs of brown dirt that exploded off of his chest.

"Bunnelby, quickly get underground with Dig!" Clemont ordered quickly, as Bunnelby landed softly on the ground.

"I think Clemont's got a plan as well," Shauna pointed out, tensing up with excitement. "Wow, it's too bad Tierno and Trevor aren't gonna be here till later. They would've loved to see this."

Serena nodded in agreement as she watched Bunnelby quickly burrow underground. She noticed that Machoke was done with its Bulk Up, and that now, Clembot seemed to be waiting for the time to strike. "Maybe they'll make it in time to see our battles," Serena suggested, although she didn't like the thought of being embarrassed in front of her friends.

"Yeah, hopefully," Shauna said, narrowing her eyes, obviously trying to pinpoint where Bunnelby was going to emerge from.

Finally, Clemont seemed to have decided it was time to attack. "Now, Bunnelby, strike!" he shouted, pointing forward, just as dirt exploded upwards from behind Machoke. Bunnelby's drill-like ears smashed into the fighting type's back and he stumbled forward, although Serena could clearly see that it had done less damage than the previous Dig had done, likely due to the three consecutive uses of Bulk Up improving its defence.

"Now, use Brick Break!" Clembot shouted, taking advantage of the situation, now that Bunnelby was completely vulnerable.

"Machoke!" Machoke grunted, quickly raising up an arm, fist glowing in bright white light. Then, just as Bunnelby was landing on the ground, Machoke swung his fist forward, driving it towards Bunnelby's head.

"Catch it with your ears Bunnelby!" Clemont ordered quickly.

"Bunnel...BEE!" Bunnelby shouted in answer, quickly aiming up his ears, taking the blow from Brick Break, and then holding on tight. It was clear that he'd felt the hit, but Clemont's idea seemed to have worked. Machoke's fist was now held tightly by Bunnelby.

"Machoke should be able to break free from that, though, right?" Shauna asked, looking at the scene in front of them in surprise.

"Clemont's probably going to do something before Machoke can get free," Serena suggested, surprised at how interested she was becoming in this battle. It wasn't as exciting as some of the Kalos League battles had been, but it was definitely worthy of being considered advanced. At least with what Serena was seeing.

Then, just as Serena predicted, Clemont pointed forward, just before giving his order. "Now, use Wild Charge from close range!"

"Bunnel-bunnelby!" Bunnelby growled, as he held on tight to the stunned Machoke. With another shout, the digging Pokemon's body was engulfed in electricity, and then he launched himself upward, Machoke's fist moving along with his body. He slammed hard into the fighting type's chest and then drove it backwards, putting all his energy into pushing Machoke back with the electric attack. Finally, with one last shove, Machoke fell back, hitting the ground hard, before Bunnelby rolled away, dropping back into his hole with a nod from Clemont.

"Very clever, Clemont!" Professor Sycamore shouted, as Machoke began to struggle to his feet. "A good way to avoid further damage while Bunnelby is hit by recoil."

Serena glanced at Shauna, who looked back with just as much confusion in her eyes as Serena felt in hers. She definitely had a lot to learn when it came to battling, but from what she could see in this battle, it looked like it was important to know. This kind of quick thinking could come in handy if she ever slipped up during a performance and needed to make a quick adjustment.

"That's not all I have," Clemont assured Professor Sycamore, smiling confidently and adjusting his glasses. "Bunnelby, Mud Shot now!"

"Counter with Focus Blast!" Clembot shouted immediately, surprising Serena a little as he had been quiet while Machoke had been on the defensive.

"Choke!" Machoke agreed turning quickly when Bunnelby shot out of the ground. He quickly formed the orb of yellow light within his hands, just as the three orbs of mud appeared above Bunnelby's head. Then with a shout from each Pokemon, their attacks fired forward, approaching each other at full speed.

The Focus Blast and Mud Shot attacks then exploded on impact, shooting out smoke and dust that blocked both Pokemon's views of each other. Serena assumed Clemont and Clembot were going to wait for the smoke to clear before making their next orders, but each of them were quick to make the next order. Clearly, each of them could see the battle approaching its end and didn't want to let up and give the other a chance to land a strike.

"Bunnelby, hit Machoke with Wild Charge! Stay hidden until the right moment!" Clemont was watching the field closely and Serena got the feeling that he had a plan that only Bunnelby could understand. She looked over at the cloud of smoke and wondered how Bunnelby could stay hidden in all of that when Wild Charge would surely show through the smoke.

Then, as soon as a yellow light appeared in the smoke, Clembot made his order. "Machoke, use Focus Blast and then hit it with Brick Break."

"Machoke!" Machoke answered, quickly forming another yellow orb within his hands and aiming carefully towards where the yellow light had flashed. Then, with a loud grunt, he launched it forward, before setting off at a run, fist glowing in a bright, white light. There was the sound of an explosion, but Serena could only see another puff of smoke shooting up, just as the rest of the smoke was fading. "Choke!" Machoke shouted, swinging his fist forward as he came to a stop where everyone had assumed Bunnelby had been.

"Now!" Clemont shouted. Then, with an explosion of dirt, right behind Machoke, Bunnelby emerged, body covered in electricity. Machoke had no chance to react, as Bunnelby slammed hard into him, electricity shooting off of the digging Pokemon's body and jolting the fighting type as he fell back, hitting the ground with a hard thud.

"Machoke is unable to battle! Bunnelby is the winner!" Professor Sycamore shouted, raising his hand up towards Clemont's side of the field.

"Congratulations Clemont Ampere," Clembot suddenly called out, raising up his metallic arm and recalling Machoke to its pokeball. "You have successfully completed the four star advanced level screening battle. You are now permitted to register for advanced level battle courses."

With that, the students around in the stands all began to applaud, loudly cheering for Clemont. Serena knew herself that not everyone was going to be as successful as Clemont. However, he'd definitely done what Sycamore had wanted, and that was creating enthusiasm over what appeared to be quite a difficult task to start of their time at the school.

"HAHA! Well done, son! Well done!" Serena looked to her left and noticed the man that had been talking to Professor Sycamore earlier, who Clemont and Bonnie had mentioned was their father. He was making his way out of the stands to approach his son. "See? I told you there was nothing to worry about. You did great!"

Serena watched Clemont awkwardly accept his praise for a moment, but after a few seconds, she realized that with Clemont's battle now over, it was time for everyone to get started. And that included her. "I don't think I'm ready for this," she said nervously, looking at Shauna, who turned her head at Serena's words.

"Just focus on the performance part and then let the battle part come after," Shauna said seriously. "Remember, Clemont said it's not as difficult for the performers. Although, I think I'd like to have more of a challenge. I don't want to get into the better classes because it was easy."

"You're crazy," Serena laughed, shaking her head in amusement. She understood not wanting to make things too easy on yourself, but she also didn't want to risk everything by trying to make it more challenging. She didn't really know anyone who would actually go out of their way to make something as challenging as possible, just to prove a point.

"Excuse me, everyone!" Professor Sycamore's voice called out, and Serena noticed that he was once again in the middle of the field. There were a couple of Geodude out there now, filling in the holes that Bunnelby had made. "Now that you've seen how the screening battles work, do any of you have any questions." When nobody seemed to have any questions, Sycamore continued. "Very well, we can now move on to the rest of the screening battles for the day, then. However," he said quickly, as people started to get up, making their way towards the door of the battlefield, "I think you may be interested in a screening battle which will be taking place later today. A surprise student has enrolled in the school, and has already been assigned a five star rating. If he so chooses, he will be permitted to battle against the most difficult Clembot program."

"Who is it?" a girl's voice asked, sounding excited. She'd clearly been pretty fired up by Clemont's battle and wanted to see another one like it.

"Yeah, who is it?" said a guy sitting near Serena asked.

"You never mentioned this before," Clemont said and Serena could see he was now standing a few feet away from Professor Sycamore, checking up on Bunnelby. "Who could have gotten a five star rating. The trainers that competed in the Kalos League only got four star ratings."

Serena watched Sycamore closely, as interested in anyone about who he could be talking about. She doubted she knew who it was, but if they received such a high rating, perhaps someone else would know. Maybe they were a famous battler from another region.

Sycamore laughed, seemingly enjoying everyone's excitement over the battles and who this mysterious student could be. "It is none other than Kalos League runner up...Ash Ketchum."

 **Author's Note:**

Sycamore mic drop! That's a quite the bomb shell to drop on his students. Think Serena is hyperventilating right now? Now, that was a weird way to do it, I guess, but I wanted Serena aware that Ash was going to be coming, because, well, he's a dense dude and she needs time to prepare.

Now, teachers...yes, Agatha and Flint! Be honest, none of you... _none of you,_ thought of them. But at least with Agatha, I think it makes a lot of sense. I'll have her talk about it more in the next chapter, but obviously there's the Oak connection and then she's getting up there in age (in a world where aging is somewhat nonexistent) and maybe some teaching will be a nice break for her. But as I was writing this, I came up with some really fun ideas for interactions between Agatha and Palermo. Don't you think those could be fun? As for Flint, well, I thought he would be a good one. I thought he had an interesting role in Diamond and Pearl and helped Ash a lot, so that could come into play here, as well.

Oh, and Ash's Pokemon. Yes, well, Oak needs _something_ to research, right? In the anime he gets the birds and in this story he gets the birds. Poor guy.

And Clemont's last name. Credit to (BMcGee628) on Twitter for that one. Ampere...fits, right? And a French name, too, so perfect for Kalos.

Nothing else. I will see you all next time. Bonnie story should be updated within a day or so. I hope.


	7. The Tests Continue

**Author's Note (XYZ 47 Spoilers):**

Wow, so how about that latest episode? My name says it all, does it not? We won! We won! We won! And that was definitely a kiss. Don't give me that crap that it wasn't.

Anyways, onto some other Pokemon matters. Sorry it's been a bit longer for this chapter. Busy, busy busy. I hope you enjoy this one. I had to speed up the Ash and Dawn stuff a bit...we'll see if it worked. So...yeah...here you go.

 **Chapter 7: The Tests Continue**

It was a couple of hours after Clemont's battle, and Professor Sycamore's announcement, and the screening battles were in full swing throughout the battlefields. After Sycamore had made his announcement of the incoming arrival of Ash Ketchum, and had waited for the excited whispers to die down, he had quickly informed the students on how to register for their screening battles, and the locations of the stadiums for regular battles and performance battles. There was some initial chaos at first, as the most excited students pushed ahead, desperate to be among the first to battle, and the lineups were pretty hectic at first.

Serena and Shauna didn't mind waiting around at first, though. Instead, they hung back with Clemont, congratulating him on his victory and getting a proper introduction to his father and sister. Once again, his sister, Bonnie, knelt down in front of the two of them, but before she could speak, Clemont had pulled her back, fuming. It wasn't long after that until Meyer decided to take Bonnie home, informing Clemont that they'd return later on to help him move into his dorm room, but that it looked like he needed some time to get to know his fellow students.

After that, Serena, Shauna and Clemont had decided to go and watch some performance battles, in order to better prepare the two performers for what they were up against. Once they had made their way over to one of the stadiums where a trainer was preparing for a battle to enter the intermediate classes as a coordinator, they found some seats, and then began watching.

While Clemont's battle had set the tone for how these screening battles were going to work, Serena definitely didn't expect for the first performance battle she saw to be as intense as it was. The trainer they were watching was red-haired girl, all dressed up in a red dress which was presumably her coordinator outfit. She seemed quite motivated along with her Sandshrew, a little mouse Pokmeon with a yellow, brick patterned back. It quickly set to work, curling up and spinning in an impressive display of speed, immediately causing Clembot's points on the screen up top to decrease. Clembot had answered back with a Pidgeotto, who used a Gust attack to disrupt Sandshrew's spinning, quickly tying up their scores.

The match continued for the full five minutes, neither Pokemon actually managing to land many hits and mostly losing points when their attacks missed or the opponent performed a fancy move, such as Clembot having Pidgeotto combine Feather Dance with Gust in order to create a tornado of dust and feathers which temporarily mesmerized Sandshrew. However, the coordinator countered this quite quickly, having Sandshrew use the tornado while curled up, and it was carried up into the air before landing a powerful hit on Pidgeotto. When the match finally ended, the points were nearly identical with the coordinator and Clembot being on their last slivers of their counter. After the final check, however, it was determined that the coordinator had won, and she immediately rushed out of the room, celebrating loudly with her Sandshrew.

As the matches continued, Serena saw more and more battles that increased her nervousness. She saw performers and coordinators alike, both succeed and fail at all the levels. Some even left the field in tears because of their loss. Seeing everyone get so stressed and feeling her own stress was not making things any easier. And it wasn't like this was the only thing on her mind, particularly after Professor Sycamore's announcement.

They had just finished watching another match, when the three of them decided to go out to the lobby and have Serena and Shauna register for their battles, as the lines were starting to shorten up. Shauna was fairly enthusiastic, but Clemont picked up on Serena's nervousness.

"You know, Serena, if you lose, you don't get kicked out. You're allowed to battle as many times as you want. At worst you'll go into beginner classes, but you can still work your way up." He adjusted his glasses and chuckled nervously. "I would know. I was thinking I'd have to do that."

As they got in a line, Serena giving Clemont a nod to acknowledge his words, Shauna looked seriously at the honey-blonde performer. "Don't be silly, Clemont. Serena won't lose at all. Come on, _I'm_ excited about this. You should be, too! What are you worried about? Ash Ketchum walking in and seeing you lose?" She smirked as she saw her friend tense up.

Serena narrowed her eyes and felt her cheeks heat up a little, but managed to stop herself from saying anything embarrassing. "Battling is just something that's really different for me. I know it's more performance-focused for the performers, but it's still going to be difficult to stay focused."

"Serena, you're probably the best performer here!" Shauna exclaimed, laughing and nudging her friend playfully. "Only Aria was able to beat you. Just because this is going to be a battle doesn't mean you have to be worried about changing your style."

"Yeah...yeah, I know. I'll figure it out, I guess," Serena answered, smiling gratefully at the two of them for their encouragement.

Shauna then smirked again and leaned forward, whispering so that Clemont, who was now distracted by something, couldn't hear. "You'll figure it out when Ash gets here, right?"

Serena just responded to that with a roll of her eyes and then stepped forward as the line moved along. She noticed that Clemont was still distracted and wasn't moving, so she turned back and looked at him, before calling to get his attention. "Hey, Clemont, are you coming?"

"Huh?" the inventor turned and stared blankly for a moment before moving forward to stand next to them. "Sorry, it's just that I saw those two guys waving over there. They seem really excited." He pointed over to another line that was near the other side of the building, as that was the side for battles, and Serena eyes followed, before resting on two familiar figures.

"It's Trevor and Tierno!" she shouted happily, getting Shauna's attention and then waving back. It seemed that the two of them had just finished their own registration and were on their way over. Trevor looked to be a little nervous, holding his camera and fiddling with it, while Tierno was doing one of his dance routines, clearly not concerned at all.

When they finally reached Serena, Shauna and Clemont, Tierno sprung forward, kneeling in front of Serena in somewhat of a similar fashion to how Bonnie had done it earlier, and he looked up at her, smiling widely. "Serena! Looking as beautiful as ever, I see!"

"Um...thanks," Serena muttered, taking a nervous step back and giving a weak smile. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Tierno. And you, too, Trevor." Fortunately, Tierno ended his little flirting act pretty quickly and got up to greet Shauna as well, before Trevor came forward as well. Serena then quickly introduced the two of them to Clemont. "Trevor and Tierno, this is Clemont. He's the Lumiose City Gym Leader...at least, some of the time he is."

"Nice to meet you, Clemont!" Tierno greeted as they shook hands. "The Lumiose Gym, huh? I remember battling the robot there, Clembot. That was a tough one, for sure. Is it true that we're battling him here for the screening battles?"

Clemont nodded, smiling proudly from the compliment for Clembot. "Yeah, I've made a lot of improvements and these models should be able to match the skill level of their opponents, depending on the accuracy of their rating. "Did you receive your rating yet?"

"Yeah, I got a four star rating," Tierno announced proudly. "I get to go for the advanced classes. I was expecting a little higher since I made it to the quarterfinals in the Kalos League, but I guess I'll just be happy with getting into the advanced classes first."

"Clemont got a four star rating as well," Serena informed the dancing trainer. She then looked over to Trevor. "How about you, Trevor?" she asked, assuming that he would likely have received a four star rating as well, considering he'd earned eight badges and a gym leader like Clemont had earned the four star rating.

Trevor didn't look too happy, though, his glancing down at the ground as soon as Serena asked the question. "I got a three and a half star rating. I only get to try out for the intermediate classes."

"What's up with that?" Tierno suddenly asked, looking insulted in place of his orange-haired friend. "If a gym leader can get a four star rating, shouldn't a trainer who competes in the Kalos League get at least that."

Serena could see that Clemont was a looking a little awkward about this whole situation, but she was curious about this as well, so she waited for his answer. "Well, it depends on the gyms you challenge. There are eight gyms in Kalos that are considered "advanced" gyms, but there are also some lower level gyms. If you're a less experienced trainer and ranked low in the Pokemon League, that would lead to you receiving a lower rating. And to receive a four and a half star or five star rating, you'd need to be more experienced, compete at the advanced gyms, and rank high in the Pokemon League."

"But Trevor ended up losing to the guy who won the whole thing," Shauna pointed out, casting a concerned look over towards Trevor, who looked uncomfortable with this conversation. "Why should he be punished for that?"

"He's not being punished," Clemont said, sounding a little exasperated now. "Besides, the ratings are only a suggestion based on your past experience and success. If you want to challenge a higher level, or even a lower level, you're free to do so."

Serena was happy to see Trevor lighten up at that, and noticed an excited look in his eyes. "Really? That's awesome!" He looked down at his camera, a confident smile coming to his face and Serena could see he was looking at the Key Stone he held within it. "Charizard and I will prove that rating wrong."

"That's the spirit, Trevs!" Tierno exclaimed, before looking back at Serena and Shauna. "So how about you two? What ratings do you think you have? There's no way you don't have five star ratings."

Before Serena could answer, there was a call from someone at a desk ahead of them, and she realized that she and Shauna were up next for registration. Shauna signalled for Serena to go ahead, and the honey-blonde performer gave a nervous smile before heading over to the desk, where a blue-haired woman with glasses was waiting. "Hello!" she greeted Serena cheerfully. "Wow, I recognize you. Serena, right?"

"Yep, that's me," Serena answered, surprised that the woman remembered her, although she remembered as well, the name Sophie sticking out to her. She recalled that they'd met briefly when she'd received Fennekin from Professor Sycamore, but that was it. _I guess she must have watched the Masterclass_ , Serena thought to herself.

"Well, I'm glad we have you aboard, Serena," Sophie said, smiling, before holding out a hand. "Could I please see your Pokedex for a moment?" Serena nodded and then pulled the device out of her pocket and handing over. Sophie then placed it into some kind of slot, before a monitor behind her lit up, showing a picture of Serena.

"Welcome, Serena Yvonne from Vaniville Town," a monotone voice called out, sounding somewhat like the voice her Pokedex had when identifying Pokemon. "Registration status: Performer," the voice continued. "Rating: four and a half stars."

With that, the image went black and then Sophie pulled out the Pokedex and handed it back to Serena, before typing some information into a computer. "Well, it looks like your Masterclass success earned you quite a good rating," she said as she finished up and looked at Serena. "I'm sure you'll do great in the advanced classes."

* * *

"Ivysaur, use Energy Ball, and then hit it forward with Vine Whip!" Clemont watched in amazement as the green sphere of energy was fired upwards, high into the air, sparkling beautifully with the light from Ivysaur's previous Sunny Day. It hovered there a few moments, before the grass type's vines shot upwards and then struck it down, sending it rocketing towards the stunned Kirlia in front of Clembot. The psychic/fairy type tried to twirl out of the way, but the attack was too fast, and she was sent high into the air as the attack exploded against her. With a thud, she landed a few feet to the side of Clembot, just as the timer went to end the battle.

It wasn't even close, as Shauna's stunning performance moves had been heavily weighted for the contest battle, with her performer status, and Clemont, Serena, Trevor and Tierno cheered loudly while Shauna's victory was announced, the screen showing her score being nearly down to half, while Clembot only had a sliver remaining.

"Great job, Shauna!" Serena shouted happily, clapping and then jumping up from her spot. She ran over to her friend and hugged her in celebration. "You did, great!"

"Thanks, Serena," Shauna said, as Clemont, Tierno and Trevor all came over. "Wow, I wasn't expecting to do so well. A four and a half star rating got me a little nervous there."

"You deserved it," Tierno told her confidently, kneeling down and petting the proud looking Ivysaur on the head. "It was so awesome! Battling that way and being in sync with your Pokemon...that's just the way I love to battle. I wish I'd been able to try some of those dance move that Clembot's Kirlia was using during _my_ battle." His eyes were shining and he almost seemed more excited about Shauna's battle than he had been when talking about his own, which he had won with some creative dance moves that had quickly backed Clembot into a corner. "Anyways, you and Serena were the best at the Masterclass, so it only makes sense that you'd be the best ones here, too."

Clemont noticed that Serena looked a little awkward hearing that, as she glanced over to Clembot who was recalling Kirlia to its pokeball. Shauna, however, looked pleased by the compliment, and smiled towards Serena. "Are you ready for your battle, Serena?" she asked, giving her friend a confident look and narrowing her eyes. "I bet you'll win for sure."

Serena gave what Clemont assumed to be a fake smile, and then looked at Trevor. "For now, it's your turn, right Trevor? You need to prove that rating wrong!"

"Yeah...I guess so," Trevor answered, taking a deep breath and then looking at Clemont. "Do you think it's a good idea for me to go through with it? Trying to battle the higher level, I mean?"

Clemont shrugged, honestly not really sure what to think. "Well, you had bad luck going up against Alain in the first round of the Kalos League, that's for sure," he acknowledged, trying to think of how he could give Trevor a reason to believe he could do this. "Your Charizard looked pretty strong, so there's a chance you could have gone quite a bit further if you'd had a different match-up."

"Well, why don't we go see if Trevor can prove it, then!" Shauna suggested, pulling out a pokeball and recalling Ivysaur. "Your scheduled to start soon, so let's get over to the battlefield."

The group quickly agreed, and then the five of them made their way out of the battlefield, Shauna being informed she would be able to join the advanced classes as they left. As they made their way over towards the other end of the building, passing the contest battlefields, Clemont could see Serena watching the battles, nervousness in her eyes. He was about to say something, but just then, Tierno spoke up.

"Wow, did you see that?" he exclaimed, running up to the entrance to one of the battlefields. Clemont and the others remained where they were, but they could see what he was talking about. The trainer in the battle was using Roselia, battling against Clembot's Quilava. As the fire type was charging forward with the flames shooting up off its body, the Roselia easily danced aside, just as Tierno had ordered his Blastoise to do throughout his own battle earlier. Although, that had been in a standard battle. It definitely worked well in the contest format, though, as Roselia's graceful dodge, lost Clembot just the right amount of points for the robot to be defeated. "Wow!" Tierno shouted again, turning back and walking over to his friends. "Contest battles are pretty awesome."

"You seem more interested in them than regular battles," Shauna said jokingly, getting a laugh out of Trevor, Serena and Clemont, although Tierno just shrugged, before they began walking again.

When they made it across to Trevor's specified battlefield, they arrived just in time to see Clembot defeating a trainer's Rhydon with a Dugtrio. It was a powerful Earthquake attack which forced the drill Pokemon to its knees, before Dugtrio burrowed underground and emerged below its opponent, shooting it up into the air. Rhydon landed with a hard thud and was quickly declared unable to battle. Clemont was impressed with how the trainer took it. They appeared disappointed, but assured the assistant that was noting down the victors, that he'd be back soon and ready to win.

Once that trainer had left, it was time for Trevor to make his way to the field, and Clemont lead his new group of friends over to the sidelines so they could watch. As they sat down, Clemont could see Trevor talking to the assistant, appearing to be putting on a brave face. It was clear that he was informing her that he wanted to battle at the higher skill level. She seemed to warn him about the difficulty, but then nodded, before heading over to Clembot the input the information.

Within a couple of minutes, everything seemed to be in order, and the assistant went back to the sidelines, while the referee stepped forward, raising two arms up, before informing Trevor of the rules, which were, of course, no different from the ones Clemont had battled with. Once the referee was finished, Trevor then threw out his pokeball, and his Charizard emerged, the flying and fire type landing on the ground and snarling at Clembot in front of him. The robot stood still for a few moments, and then threw out his choice. After a flash of light, Pokemon with a log-shaped body and arms that looked almost like branches, appeared in front of Clembot. A Sudowoodo.

"Wow, I thought the advanced battles would have type advantages over their opponents," Shauna whispered, sounding excited as she watched the two Pokemon prepare for battle.

"Sudowoodo is actually a pure rock type Pokemon," Clemont informed the performer, understanding why she thought it would have a type disadvantage, as it appeared like a grass type. "Charizard's at a double disadvantage here."

"Trevs will pull through!" Tierno said confidently. "Come on, Trevor, show them what you can do!" the dancer shouted to his friend.

Trevor looked over and nodded, giving his friends a thumbs up before turning his attention back to the field in front of him. Clemont was surprised to see the orange-haired trainer take the initiative, expecting him to have waited for Clembot to act first. "Charizard, start things off with Flamethrower!"

"Counter with Mimic," Clembot quickly called out in response, metallic eyes blinking as he processed what was going on in front of him.

With a roar from Charizard, and a, "Woodo!" from Sudowoodo, the powerful jets of flames rushed towards each other from the two Pokemon on the battlefield. They collided with full force, creating a large fireball as they strained against each other, before exploding in a massive cloud of smoke. Clemont winced as the heat rushed towards him, hearing his friends gasp in discomfort as well.

Trevor was quick to take advantage of the smoke between the Pokemon, ordering his next move immediately. "Charizard, fly up and then use Dragon Claw!" he shouted, sounding surprisingly confident after some of his nervousness before the match. Clemont could relate, as getting into a battle often erased his own nerves as well.

The fire-lizard responded with a loud roar and then flapped his wings hard, shooting up into the air. He hovered above the cloud of smoke for a moment, and just as it was starting to clear, he shot down, his claw glowing in a green light. Clemont could barely see it, but heard the cry from Sudowoodo quite clearly as it was struck by the attack.

"Great move, Trevs!" Tierno cheered, doing a fist pump. "Keep on movin' and groovin' to the rhythm of the battle."

Clemont didn't really know what that was supposed to mean, since Trevor seemed to be fighting with a completely different style to Tierno, but just decided to ignore it as he watched Charizard fly back up and unleash a Flamethrower which engulfed Sudowoodo completely.

"Trevor's really taken over this match," Shauna pointed out, cheering as Sudowood missed a Hammer Arm attack, and getting slammed into by a Dragon Tail immediately after.

"Yeah, it looks like he really did get some bad luck with the Kalos League," Clemont admitted, feeling bad that his rating system had underestimated the orange-haired trainer.

While Sudowoodo managed to strike Charizard with a Wood Hammer attack to the chest, Clemont watched Trevor respond with a quick counterattack, having Charizard strike with back to back Dragon Claw strikes. He wasn't perfect, and Clembot managed to get the upper hand on a couple of attacks, but overall it was clear that Trevor was winning this match.

"All of you have done so well with your battles," Serena suddenly said, voice shaking with nerves. Clemont could see her following the battle in front of her, clearly wondering how she'd be able to keep up once her own battle started. "I still don't know how I can do this."

"Just do what you do best," Shauna suggested, smiling as she watched Charizard hit Sudowoodo with another Flamethrower. "I just acted like it was a regular performance and then directed some of it towards my opponent. You'll get used to it pretty quickly."

Serena nodded, giving Shauna a grateful smile. Clemont would have said something as well, but at that moment, Trevor was just finishing off his battle. "Charizard, Dragon Claw full power!"

With another loud roar, the fire lizard rushed forward, his green claws extended out in front of him. Sudowoodo could only watch in stunned silence as the fire type's claws struck it and sent it flying back. The rock type crashed to the ground, dust shooting up around it, and didn't get up again.

As Trevor was declared the winner, Clemont and the others rushed towards him, cheering happily for his success. He looked stunned with his success, and stared at his celebrating Charizard in shock. Clemont had the feeling that the orange-haired trainer had barely noticed how he had controlled the pace of the match.

"Great job, Trevs!" Tierno shouted happily, dancing his way over to Trevor and putting his arm around his friend's shoulder. "You really had the rhythm going there."

Clemont watched as the four friends celebrated Trevor's victory, and the realization that another advanced trainer had qualified made him think. Just because he'd done well with his own screening battle, he definitely still had a lot of work to do. There were plenty of great trainers out there, and he still had a lot to prove.

"Well, I guess it's time for Serena's battle," Shauna finally said, once Trevor had recalled his Charizard and his win had been noted by the assistant. "Then we'll all be done."

"Yeah," Serena said, nodding with narrowed eyes, as though doing her best to steel herself for her upcoming match. "Yeah, it's time to do this."

Clemont smiled as the honey-blonde led the group out of the battlefield and back into the lobby. He was looking forward to the battle, and also getting to show off some more of the school afterwards. Things had been starting off pretty well, so he was excited to keep moving forward and as they made their way through the lobby and towards Serena's specified battlefield, Clemont had a strange feeling that things were about to pick up even more. He was the last to enter the battlefield, and as he was about to enter, he heard some doors open at one of the entrances to the lobby. He took a quick glance back, and noticed a girl with navy blue hair entering, staring around in interest. He could just see that someone was entering behind her, but just then, Trevor called out to him, so he turned and followed his friends into the battlefield, wondering just what was about to happen.

* * *

While the plane descended into Lumiose City, Dawn had been completely blown away by what she could see out the window. In some ways, it was like many of the large cities she had seen throughout her travels, but what set this one apart, was Prism Tower. It had immediately drawn the coordinator's attention, and Flint, who was sitting next to her, had laughed at her many surprised gasps while the plane drew closer and closer to the city.

The flight had been pretty long, and while Dawn and Flint had been able to sit together, they really didn't have much to talk about, other than their love of Pokemon and what they thought might happen at the university. Flint was _very_ focused on battling, and while Dawn didn't mind talking about it, she'd already heard plenty about it while staying with Ash in Pallet Town.

However, when the plane finally landed and the passengers were able to disembark, now that they were at their destination, Dawn was happy to have someone to be excited with. "Lumiose City is beautiful!" she shouted, while walking down the steps out of the plane, holding up Piplup so he could see clearly as well. She could just see the top of Prism Tower past airport building in front of them. "This is already worth it."

"Maybe you won't be saying that once you get your first batch of homework," Flint told her with a laugh as he followed her. Dawn didn't really know if he was joking or not, but decided to just ignore the thought. She'd deal with that if and when it came.

As Dawn and Flint entered the airport, they could see many people and Pokemon running around, rushing to and from planes. They were on their way to collect their luggage when an excited shout was heard from behind them. Dawn turned around with a smile on her face when she heard it.

"Dawn!" And when the blue-haired trainer turned around, she wasn't surprised to see the goofy smile on the face of the raven-haired trainer heading towards her, his Pikachu also smiling from his shoulder. He was walking alongside an old woman with a walking stick, but Dawn had a strange feeling the woman was a lot more threatening than she looked. When the two finally reached Dawn and Flint, Ash raised up his hand and gave Dawn a high five, a habit they'd acquired while training in Pallet Town. "Good to see you again. Like Kalos so far?"

"Well I haven't seen too much of it, yet," Dawn told him, raising an eyebrow. She then smiled at the thought of seeing the city from the plane and nodded. "It looks pretty great from what I saw, though."

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, before looking up at Flint. "And Flint! What are you doing here?" He reached out his hand and shook hands with the Elite Four member. Dawn was shocked that Flint seemed to know who Ash was as well.

"Haha, nice to see you too, Ash," Flint said, chuckling and putting his hands on his hips. "I'm actually here for a similar reason to your friend, here." He then gestured to the old woman next to Ash, who was smirking at the interactions in front of her. "Or so I assume."

Ash then looked slightly embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head before turning to the old woman. "Oh, sorry, this is Agatha, a member of the Elite Four in Kanto. And Agatha, this is my friend Dawn. And I guess you know, Flint somehow?"

"Oh yes, us Elite Four members cross paths once in a while," Agatha answered with a chuckle, before looking to Dawn. "And it's nice to meet you, Dawn. I hope that being a coordinator won't prevent you from taking some tough battling classes."

Dawn didn't know how to respond to that. She didn't know how Agatha knew she was a coordinator, and judging from Ash's surprised look, she assumed he hadn't told the old woman. "I guess I'll probably take a couple of battle classes," she finally answered, more so out of nervousness from the old woman's stare.

"It's a little soon for that," Flint chimed in, laughing as Agatha shrugged. "Anyways, why don't we go and get our things. Then we can head on over to the university. From what I know, they're testing you guys right away to decide on your classes."

With that, the four of them headed over to the baggage claim area, Dawn and Flint receiving theirs from the Sinnoh arrivals and Ash and Agatha receiving theirs from Kanto. It was fairly busy, but luckily their bags arrived quite quickly, and within a few minutes, everyone had their belongings, and they were on their way out of the airport.

Once outside, while Ash pointed out some of the Kalos native Pokemon that were out with their trainers, Flint went ahead to find a taxi to take them all to the university. Dawn was fascinated by some of the Kalos Pokemon she was seeing. A few of them looked like they would be perfect Pokemon to use in contests if she could ever catch one of her own, and she hoped that the opportunity to do so would arise, even if she was at a school, rather than travelling.

Ash was just pointing out a small yellow and orange fox-like Pokemon named Fennekin, when Flint returned to inform them that he'd found a taxi. The two Elite Four members and the two young trainers with them, then made their way over to the taxi, and a few minutes later, with their luggage loaded in the trunk, they were on their way to the university.

Dawn couldn't help but feel a small hint of nervousness creep into her at this point. This was really something very new to her, and it was finally sinking in that she was doing something completely different from her old approach to coordinating. She glanced out the window of the taxi and watched the buildings pass by, seeing a few more strange Pokemon as they drove towards their destination.

"You ready to battle if I need you, buddy?" Dawn heard Ash say, and she turned her head to see him looking confidently at Pikachu, who was on his shoulder, looking out the window.

The electric mouse turned his head towards his trainer and nodded confidently, eyes narrowing with determination. "Pika!" he shouted out in excitement, and Dawn could tell that Ash's loyal partner was fired up and ready to battle. She looked down to Piplup in her lap, and hoped that he was going to be just as ready to go when needed.

"So you'll be using Pikachu for your test?" Agatha suddenly asked, looking over at Ash from her spot next to Dawn. "That should be interesting to see. Pikachu gave my Gengar a run for its money, so I'll be interested to see how he's improved."

"I think Pikachu had a tougher time against my Infernape," Flint said teasingly, looking back at Agatha from his spot up front. I guess fire types are just a bit more of a challenge for anyone. Especially compared to ghost types."

Agatha narrowed her eyes, and Dawn bit her lip to stop from giggling, noticing Ash was also struggling to contain himself. "We'll have to see about that, Flint," Agatha finally managed to say through gritted teeth. "Your Infernape wouldn't even be able to _touch_ my Gengar."

Luckily, the banter wasn't able to escalate, as within a few moments, the taxi pulled up in front of a large building, which Dawn could see had many people her and Ash's age walking in and out of. As she looked closer, she could see a sign above the entrance, saying, "Welcome Students of Lumiose University!"

Ash and Dawn couldn't wait to get out of the car, and were pulling their luggage out of the trunk before Agatha and Flint had even opened their doors. Dawn was just starting to wonder what they were going to do with all of their luggage, when a woman with purple hair approached, wearing a white lab coat with the letters _LU_ on right side and a name tag which said Cosette on the other side. "Hello, you two," she greeted with a light bow. "Are you two here for Lumiose University?"

"We sure are! Hi Cosette!" Ash answered happily, and the woman, Cosette gasped a little when she looked at him, clearly recognizing him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ash. Hello," she said quickly. "I didn't see it was you. Right...Professor Sycamore has been anxiously awaiting your arrival. Many of the students as well." She then waved over to a couple of Machoke who were standing near the building, and they approached the taxi, just as Flint was finishing paying the driver. "We'll have your things taken to your dorm rooms for you. They'll be in your rooms for when you finish your screening tests."

"Sounds great, thanks!" Ash said, handing his case over to one of the Machoke, giving it a smile as it lifted it easily up with one arm, placing it on its shoulder. The other then took Dawn's and the two began to head off, seemingly happy to show off their ability to carry the luggage. Dawn wondered if even Ash's Hawlucha would show off that much.

As two other Machoke approached to take Flint's and Agatha's luggage, Cosette looked at them and then down at a clipboard in her hands. "Hello Mr. Flint and Ms. Agatha," she greeted formally, bowing a little. "Professor Sycamore will be very glad to know you've arrived safely. If you wouldn't mind coming with me, he would like to see you." She then looked at Ash, and then Dawn. "As soon as you two enter, you'll be able to see the registration desks. On the left, is battle registration and on the right is contest and performance registration. You will be given a rating based on your experience and success in official competition, and then you will be able to participate in a screening battle, either a standard or contest battle, to determine your class level."

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you a little later, then," Flint said to Ash and Dawn as he handed one of his bags over to a Machoke. "Hopefully we'll be able to see your battles, but if not, good luck. I'm sure you'll both do perfectly fine, though."

"Yes, good luck," Agatha said, smiling and resting on her walking stick while one of the Machoke took her case, stopping her from leaning over to pick it up as it approached. "Ash, I'm sure you'll power through no matter what your opponent is. And Dawn, just stay sharp and don't hesitate. I expect both of you to pass these tests with ease."

"Of course we will," Ash assured her with a confident smile, looking up quickly at Pikachu who nodded and gave a fist pump in reply. "We know when we can win a battle for sure, and this is one of those times. Nothing is going to hold us back. Same with you, right Dawn?" he asked, looking over towards the coordinator.

Dawn swallowed a little nervously, but managed to steel herself and glance down at Piplup who looked up at her with confidence. She then looked at Agatha, Flint and finally Ash, before nodding in agreement. "No need to worry, because we've got this test in the bag!"

* * *

"Congratulations, Ash, you're all set to go. You as well, Dawn," Sophie, one of Professor Sycamore's assistants said, smiling at the two trainers. "Dawn, your battle will begin shortly in that field right over there." She turned and pointed to a field about twenty feet away. Ash could see the lights from the entrance and could just barely hear some noises from the people inside.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed, turning and looking at Dawn. "Come on, let's go see what you'll have to do." He gave a quick wave to Sophie and then rushed ahead to the specified battlefield, Dawn trying to catch up as he ran.

"Ash, wait up!" the coordinator shouted and he slowed up while she caught up to him. "Why do you need to be in such a rush?"

Ash just shrugged and the two started approaching the entrance to the field. "I don't know...it's just gonna be neat to see some other trainers in action. This is a contest battle, anyways, right? So you'll be able to see what your up against."

Dawn nodded at that, seeing the logic behind it, and picked up her pace, making it to the entrance before Ash. "Looks like it's just about to start," she whispered, as Ash stopped next to her, looking through and seeing the field in front of him.

There was a robot on the other end of the field, that looked just like the one Ash had battled at the Lumiose City Gym. In front of the robot, which Ash remembered was named Clembot, was a big, blue tadpole Pokemon with black and white swirls under its eyes and boxing glove fists, which Ash recognized as a Poliwhirl.

In front of Ash and Dawn, was Clembot's challenger, who must not have noticed them entering, because she was staring ahead at the field in front of her. She looked to be shaking a little, and she brushed her honey-blonde hair out of her face, before pulling out a pokeball. Ash glanced up at the screen above, which actually showed the girl's face, status, rating and name, which was Serena. Apparently she was a performer, so Ash could understand why she was nervous about the battle, although with a four and a half star rating, he assumed she was probably very good.

As Serena prepared herself to call out her Pokemon, Ash and Dawn made their way over to the sidelines, getting two available spots next to four people who were staring at them in shock. Ash smiled, instantly recognizing a couple of them, a stocky guy with a black T-shirt and an orange-haired guy with a camera. "Hey," he greeted, sitting down next to a blond guy with glasses, "you guys were at the Kalos League, right? Tierno and Trevor?"

"Uh...yeah," the orange-haired one, Trevor, said, managing a nervous smile. "Hi, and we know you. You're Ash." Ash smiled awkwardly at that, not surprised he was recognized as well, but not exactly used to it. "Wow, I almost didn't believe it was true you were coming here."

It wasn't long before the others in the group introduced themselves, along with Dawn. They seemed to be stunned at Ash's arrival and were staring at him in shock the whole time. The brunette girl, Shauna, actually seemed to know who Dawn was, apparently having knowledge of contests from her research before coming to the school. They were all apparently friends of the girl who was battling, and were here to cheer her on.

"Well I'll cheer her on as well, then," Ash assured them, before cupping his hands over his mouth and preparing to yell, just as Serena's two-legged fox Pokemon, Braixen, emerged in front of her. Before he could say anything, though, Shauna, sitting next to the blond boy, Clemont, who Ash was next to, reached over and pulled his hands down.

"Stop!" she hissed quickly, putting her index finger over her lips to signal for silence. "You'll distract Serena." She looked somewhat amused as she said this, but Ash ignored that and just nodded, understanding that some people needed less cheering to remain focused on battle.

Ash just decided to watch quietly then, looking forward to seeing how this girl would do, considering she likely wasn't used to battling. The rules of the battle had just been laid out by the referee, and the screen above Clembot changed to show a timer and two score counters underneath the images of Serena and Clembot.

"So this battle will be more focused on performing, right?" Dawn asked, looking over at the group they'd joined.

"Yeah," Clemont said with a nod. "It's set up like a contest battle, but since Serena is a performer, the battling won't be weighted as heavily."

Ash narrowed his eyes as he watched Poliwhirl prepare to battle from in front of Clembot. Whether the performance was weighted heavily or not, a battle made things much different. Serena's ability to think quickly and adjust to her opponent was going to play a big role in this. However, as he looked at the girl, he saw her take a deep breath and narrow her eyes in determination, muttering something to herself. Even though she was nervous, she wasn't going to let it hold her back. Ash smiled as he watched, respecting that determination.

"Braixen, start things off with Fire Blast!" she suddenly yelled, thrusting her arm out as she made the command.

"Poliwhirl, dodge counter with Hydro Pump and then use Rain Dance!" Clembot countered quickly, surprising Ash with his quick order. The Clembot at the gym never acted so quickly.

The Poliwhirl was just as quick in its response. As soon as Braixen pointed her branch-wand forward and unleashed the five-pronged fire attack, the tadpole Pokemon fired off a massive jet of water in response. The attacks collided in the middle of the field, steam shooting up from the water and fire colliding. Then, a couple of seconds later, thick clouds appeared high above the battlefield and a heavy rain began to fall. Ash didn't mind it, but he could hear some angry muttering from the crowd, and Dawn was complaining from her spot next to him.

Serena, meanwhile, clearly knew that she was in a tough spot, and Ash followed her gaze up to the scoreboard, which showed her points quickly dropping by about ten percent. Clembot's had also dropped, but only about half as much as hers, due to the Fire Blast attack. Ash silently willed her on to make a quick move, as she was wasting valuable time in watching the scoreboard.

Luckily, she did just that, and her eyes moved back to the field and towards Braixen. "Braixen, use Hidden Power, and then send it up with Flamethrower!"

Ash narrowed his eyes in confusion as he watched Braixen tense up and nod in agreement, wondering just what Serena had in mind. "Braixen-brai!" Braixen shouted, as she fired three blue orbs up into the air, before aiming her wand up towards them. "Brai!" she shouted again, unleashing a powerful Flamethrower which shot upwards, seemingly grabbing hold of the orbs from Hidden Power and carrying them up towards the rain clouds.

It was then that Ash could see what Serena was planning. As the orbs sailed up, carried by the Flamethrower, the rain fell hard upon the attack, causing the flames to slowly lose power, making smoke billow up over the orbs. However, the blue orbs continued to go up, creating a ghostly effect as they shot up with the smoke billowing off of them. Finally, they exploded as they reached the clouds, creating what appeared like blue fire works which clashed brilliantly with the rain clouds.

"Amazing!" Ash heard Dawn gasp, while he clapped along with Serena's friends, watching as Clembot's points dropped drastically to about two thirds of his counter, Serena's attack giving her a dominant lead.

"Serena's got the rhythm going now," Tierno added, pumping his fist in excitement.

Ash nodded, smiling as he watched Serena quickly get ready with her next move. He knew, however, that Clembot wouldn't be done. He hadn't used his own Rain Dance to his advantage yet, and Ash knew he was about to. And it was as if the robot had heard Ash's thoughts, because he quickly put a metallic arm forward, calling his next attack. "Poliwhirl, use Bubblebeam!"

"Whirl!" Poliwhirl shouted in its deep voice, just before the powerful stream of bubbles began to shoot out, looking as though they picked up speed as they shot through the pouring rain. The display of speed and power from the attack seemed to impress whatever was judging the points, because Ash noticed Serena's points drop a little bit as the bubbles rushed towards Braixen.

"Braixen fight those back with Scratch!" Serena shouted, clearly ready to take those attacks head on. Ash definitely liked that style, and exchanged a smirk with Pikachu, knowing he did too.

"Brai!" Braixen shouted, as she quickly stuffed her branch into her bushy tail and then rushed forward, holding her paws up, teeth bared. The ferocity she showed seemed to even surprise Serena's friends, who gasped at the sight. However, it seemed effective at first as she began swiping at the streaming bubbles, creating blue sparkles in the air as the exploding bubbles mixed with the rain. She managed to cause Clembot's points to drop a bit more so that he was now down to halfway, before one of the bubbles struck her in the chest, making her lose concentration. Then, very quickly, the rest of the Bubblebeam attack slammed into Braixen, hitting her chest with a barrage from the supercharged and super effective attack. "Seeen!" the fox Pokemon shouted as she fell backwards, crashing hard into the now muddy ground.

Ash gritted his teeth, seeing Serena's points quickly fall to just below three quarters of her counter. She was still ahead, but Braixen had been hit pretty hard, and now Poliwhirl had the perfect opportunity to do some more damage or make a display. "Come on...don't give up," he whispered quietly to himself, watching Braixen catching her breath from the ground, looking appalled at the mud that was on her paws.

"Poliwhirl, use Psychic on the falling rain," Clembot suddenly ordered. Ash's eyes quickly moved over to the tadpole Pokemon, and he watched in frustration as its eyes glowed blue and then suddenly, the falling rain began to slow down, as each individual drop began to glow in a blue aura. "Now, combine the water and send it towards Braixen and follow it up with Bubblebeam!"

Ash couldn't help but feel frustrated by Braixen's lack of movement. If she would just stop worrying about the mud on her paws, she'd be able to act quickly enough to defend herself. Serena was already losing points from the psychically controlled Rain Dance, and was now down to the halfway point, tied with Clembot. She couldn't afford to fall behind, especially now. He didn't care that Shauna had told him to keep quiet. Serena and Braixen needed a jolt, and he didn't care if it was coming from someone she didn't know. "Hey Serena!" he shouted loudly, causing the girl to jump and look over at him in shock. She stared at Ash with wide eyes, blinking a few times as though trying to see if he was really there. He could have sworn he saw her mouth his name, but he ignored that, wanting to get her head back in the game. "You can win this. Stay focused and don't give up till it's over!"

For a moment, she stared back, and then a small smile came to her face, and Ash heard a giggle coming from Shauna's direction. Then, the honey-blonde performer turned her attention back to the field, which showed Poliwhirl's growing rain sphere was almost ready to be launched. "Braixen, don't give up," she said calmly. "Wait until the attack approaches and then use Fire Blast on the ground."

Ash's fists clenched and he watched as Poliwhirl's rain sphere was finally completed and then Clembot gave the quick order to send it towards Braixen. As the massive sphere of water hurtled towards her, Ash was sure the fox Pokemon wasn't going to react in time. Then, with incredible reflexes, Braixen plucked her branch from her tail, aimed it at the ground beneath her, and then fired the powerful fire attack downwards. Just as the rain sphere hit her location, Braixen was carried upwards, smoke, steam, water and mud shooting up from beneath her, sparks from the flames mixing within it all, actually making an interesting light effect. Ash pumped his fist as he saw Clembot's points drop quickly so that he only had a little more than a quarter left in his counter.

Clembot wasn't done yet, though, and Ash was only just remembering that he'd ordered the immediate Bubblebeam attack as soon as the other one had ended. With Braixen vulnerable in midair, Clembot and Poliwhirl had the perfect opportunity to strike. "Whirl!" Poliwhirl shouted, and after a deep breath, it fired off the powerful stream of bubbles, which blasted through the rain, which was once again falling. Serena's points dropped a little bit once again from the powerful display of Bubblebeam, but Ash was more worried about what would happen if Braixen was hit.

Serena apparently had a plan, though, and Ash was surprised to see her smiling as the attack approached. "Braixen, use Hidden Power, but hold onto it and use it as a shield." The order seemed to surprise even the fox Pokemon, but she obeyed nonetheless, and within seconds, she had formed the blue sphere and quickly grabbed onto it, holding it out in front of her and she descended to the ground with the bubbles shooting towards her. "Now run forward!" Serena shouted excitedly.

"Braixen-brai!" Braixen answered confidently, holding her blue sphere in front of her. As she ran forward, the bubbles exploded against her Hidden Power shield, but the defence held strong, and the water sprayed around Braixen as she ran, making the fox Pokemon look quite intimidating as she rushed towards her opponent. Ash noticed Clembot's points quickly drop so that he only had about an eighth remaining, and knew that if Serena could land a powerful attack and make an impressive display, she'd have the win.

Braixen was finally about to close the gap, and Ash could see Poliwhirl staring ahead at her, completely stunned and clearly Clembot didn't have a counterattack planned, because he remained silent. The only one with a plan was Serena, who held her hand out in front of her and smiled confidently with her next order, looking like she knew victory was within her reach. "Now, throw your Hidden Power attack and then use Fire Blast!"

"BraiiiXEN!" Braixen shouted, flinging the blue sphere forward and then taking aim with her branch. As the Hidden Power attack exploded against Poliwhirl's chest, the five-pronged fire attack was unleashed. Just as Poliwhirl was falling back from the initial attack, the Fire Blast exploded against it, shooting off red sparks which sizzled and popped with the falling rain. No one was surprised as a buzzer sounded with Clembot's points falling to zero.

"Yeah! We did it, Braixen!" Serena shouted, running forward towards her Pokemon, clearly not caring about the muddy field.

Ash sat back and smiled, watching the performer celebrate with her Pokemon. He may not have known the girl, but he couldn't help feeling throughout the battle that he really wanted her to win. He supposed it would have been the same for anyone, but he did notice that she seemed to care for her Pokemon and wanted to win in the same way he often did.

While Serena's friends celebrated next to him, Ash turned to Dawn, who also seemed quite excited by the battle they'd just witnessed. "Well, Dawn," Ash said, smirking a little, "no offence, but I don't know if anyone can top what Serena did."

 **Author's Note:**

That last line...it's also in reference to XYZ 47. Why? Because I don't think anyone can top that.

So how did that one work out? I was originally planning to show the Trevor, Shauna and Tierno battles, but whoa that would've been a lot. We might as well focus on more important battles for them later on. However, Trevor had a bit more focus since he got a lower rating and had to prove himself. You might be able to see where I'm going with him. Same with Tierno. I made my plans for him fairly obvious. I love what I've got planned for him, and I hope you do as well. It just makes so much sense to me.

Then there's Ash, Serena and Dawn. Obviously not much happened with Dawn, but she was used to show some quick travel. I guess it was a bit rushed, but I had to speed it up. Hopefully not too bad, though. The Ash intros to the group. Maybe a bit sloppy, but he was entering during the battle, so not much could happen at the time. They properly get introduced next chapter. And of course the battle. I hope it went well. My first, full contest battle...sort of. I made it more battle-like than expected, but hopefully there was enough performance stuff to make it work. And Serena kicked ass with some motivation from Ash, so there's that, too.

Amourshipping Canon. Yes it is canon. Bye for now.

P.S. I've joined the famous Epicocity in the...Review Initiative (or something like that). So, I will try to suggest some amourshipping stories at the end of my chapters, because then you can stop suffering through mine. Ha...ha...ha. So, number one recommendation is...drum roll...surprise surprise...EPICOCITY! I know...very unexpected. So yeah, go and read the Ancienverse Triology, because it's amazing. It's better than books you'll find in the book store and it's sort of free. So to the 3 people who don't know Epicocity, go and read, please. Bye again.


	8. Sparking an Education

**Author's Note:**

Well a little quicker getting this one out, huh? Good thing, right? Well...to some of you. By the way, have a look at the character list up top and things might be a little clearer about something that's upsetting a few people.

Shut up, AC, let's get to the chapter. Okay...

 **Chapter 8:** **Sparking an Education**

As Serena celebrated her victory on the field, Ash turned towards the group of trainers he and Dawn had sat next to, deciding to get to know them better after joining them in cheering for Serena. He started with the blond boy next to him.

"So your name is Clemont, right?" Ash asked, holding out a hand.

"Yeah," Clemont answered, shaking Ash's hand, still looking kind of flustered about Ash's presence, even after sitting with him for a few minutes now. "I must admit, Ash, it's kind of weird to see you here. See, I'm kind of here because of you. I watched you in the Kalos League, and it really inspired me to become a better Gym Leader."

Ash's eyes widened at that and he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He definitely didn't expect someone to say that he, of all people, had inspired them to go to a school. "What? I inspired you?"

"Yeah," Clemont said, chuckling nervously, while the others listened in, watching in curiosity. "I'm actually the real Lumiose City Gym Leader and I designed Clembot to kind of...make my job easier. I'm really into inventions, so I neglect my duties sometimes. I'm hoping I can improve myself here, and learn how to be a better trainer, inventor and Gym Leader."

"I'm sure you will, Clemont," Shauna said, from her spot a couple seats away. "Clemont's done a great job already," she informed Ash, pointing towards Clembot. "He designed this entire screening battle process and helped set up the school."

"That's awesome, Clemont!" Ash exclaimed, staring at the inventor in amazement, eyes shining. "Wow, science is so amazing!" He managed to snap out of it a moment later, and then looked back at Shauna. "How about you, Shauna? I know a little bit about Tierno and Trevor from the Kalos League, but not much about you."

"I'm want to be Kalos Queen, just like Serena does!" Shauna exclaimed happily, looking over towards her friend, who was talking to the assistant, who was noting down her victory. "Serena beat me in the Masterclass, so we're kind of rivals, but at least here, we get to be teammates." She then leaned her head around so she could look at Dawn. "Are you here to be a Performer as well, Dawn?"

Dawn shook her head, getting to her feet as her picture came up on the screen above Clembot, showing that her battle would begin shortly. "No, I'm actually a Coordinator," she explained, looking down to Piplup who was bracing himself for battle. "I'm kind of in a rut, so I feel like Lumiose University can help me get back on track."

"Dawn's pretty good, too," Ash added in, honestly. "She was second place in the Sinnoh Grand Festival a few years ago and she finished Top Four at the Indigo Grand Festival a couple of months ago."

"Wow, not bad," Trevor said, nodding in admiration. "Coordinating seems pretty tough, so finishing that high must mean you're really good."

"Is dancing really important in coordinating?" Tierno suddenly asked, and Ash could see his eyes seemed somewhat hopeful. "I saw a few Pokemon have been doing some really cool dance moves in their Contest battles. It seems pretty cool."

Dawn nodded, smirking a little, although Ash didn't really get why. "Is that why you were talking about rhythm and groovin' during the battle?" she asked, giggling a little. When Tierno didn't answer, looking a little embarrassed, she continued on, answering his question. "Yeah, dancing could be really useful. It's a good way for Pokemon to show the judges that they're having fun and also just for showing off their beauty. It can score you a lot of points."

Tierno looked like he was about to ask another question, but just then, a voice got everyone's attention. "Hey guys, it looks like I managed to do it. Thanks for cheering me on!" Ash turned his head, looking past Dawn, and noticed that Serena was standing behind her. When Dawn turned around, she moved aside so that Serena could properly see everyone there. Her gaze immediately focused on Ash. "Um...hi, Ash," she greeted, sounding a bit nervous. "Thanks for snapping me out of my mind freeze out there."

"No problem!" Ash said happily, giving her a thumbs up. He then stopped and looked at her in confusion. "Wait...how do you know my name?"

"She was with us at the Kalos League," Trevor pointed out, causing Ash to look at him. "Serena was actually rooting for you once Tierno and I had been knocked out. I guess you kind of returned the favour here."

"Oh, well thanks for that," Ash told her, turning back to her. "Well, to properly introduce myself, I'm Ash from Pallet Town. And this," he said, looking up to Pikachu on his shoulder, "is my partner, and best friend, Pikachu."

"Pi-kachu!" Pikachu greeted with a little wave of his paw.

"And this is my friend, Dawn" Ash continued, gesturing to the Coordinator, who took a step forward, holding out her hand to Serena. "She's up next, actually. Trying to get into the advanced Coordinator classes."

Dawn nodded, shaking Serena's hand, before picking Piplup off the ground and introducing him to the Performer as well. "No need to worry, though," Dawn assured everyone. "Piplup and I are ready for this. We're really pumped up after Serena's battle." With that, she gave a little wave, making her way over to her spot on the battlefield, where she was met by the assistant.

Once Dawn had walked off, Serena came over to sit next to Ash, her Braixen standing in front of her, looking a little unhappy. "Oh, sorry Braixen," Serena said suddenly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a handkerchief. "You must hate having all that mud on you." She started wiping off some of the drying mud that was on Braixen's fur, but didn't seem to be making much progress.

Noticing this, Ash had an idea and pulled out Greninja's pokeball, releasing the frog-ninja Pokemon in front of him. "Maybe Greninja can help," he suggested, holding his hand out to take the handkerchief from Serena. The Performer looked at Greninja in shock, clearly remembering him from the Kalos League. In fact, many people from the stands were now muttering in excitement at the sight of the water type. After another moment of hesitation, Serena handed the handkerchief to Ash, and then he held it up to Greninja. "Okay...Greninja, can you use Water Shuriken on the handkerchief?"

"Gren!" Greninja answered with a quick nod, before pulling both arms behind him, forming watery ninja stars within them, and then bringing them forward. He managed to slow his thrust from what he would normally do if fighting, but it still took Ash by surprise a bit, and the now soaking handkerchief went flying into his face. "Ninja..." Greninja muttered, looking at Ash with slight embarrassment.

"It's all right, Greninja," Ash laughed, pulling the handkerchief off his face, and then wiping some of the water off. He handed the handkerchief over to Serena. "Hopefully that helps."

Serena nodded, giving a grateful smile to both Ash and Greninja, and then began cleaning off Braixen's fur, actually managing to get the majority of the mud off now. It wasn't perfect, but the fox Pokemon seemed to be much happier. "Braixen-brai!" she shouted happily, smiling up towards Greninja.

The frog-ninja looked back a little awkwardly, before giving a short nod. "Gren," he muttered, before looking away and towards the battlefield.

"Um...thanks for the help, Greninja," Ash said, before recalling the frog-ninja back into his pokeball. He then looked over to Braixen, who was now sitting next to Serena. "Feeling better, Braixen?" he asked, smiling towards the fire type.

"Brai," Braixen answered with a nod, smiling gratefully at Ash again.

"Braixen hates to get mud on her," Serena said, looking at Ash with an amused smile, carefully putting away the handkerchief. "I'm glad she was able to ignore it for the battle, though."

Ash laughed, looking up at Pikachu. "Pikachu doesn't mind a bit of mud, right buddy?" Pikachu just answered with a shrug, showing that it didn't matter. Just like Ash, he preferred focusing on the battle rather than his appearance.

Ash was just about to say more, but just then, Clemont nudged him, getting his attention. "I think the battle is about to start," he informed the raven-haired trainer."

Ash quickly turned towards the field, noticing Dawn was in the spot Serena had been in and Piplup was standing in front of her. Clembot was just raising up one of his metallic arms, about to send out his Pokemon to battle her. "Water type Pokemon are weak against grass and electric types. Selecting grass type. Go, Shiftry!" Like a cannon, his arm fired out a pokeball, and then there was a flash of light, which revealed the Wicked Pokemon. Ash pursed his lips, easily sensing this wouldn't be an easy fight for Dawn. It was a large, brown, two-legged Pokemon with a white mane over its face and back. It had long, pointed ears, along with a pointed nose under its yellow eyes. On its hands, were three leaves with brown spokes. It glared ahead at Piplup, and Ash noticed the Penguin Pokemon take a nervous step back.

"That Shiftry looks pretty strong," Shauna whispered nervously, looking over towards Ash. "Can Dawn handle that with just a Piplup?"

"Her Piplup is pretty tough," Ash answered, holding his fist up and giving a confident smile. "Dawn and Piplup can definitely do this."

As soon as those words left Ash's mouth, there was a bell, and the battle had officially begun. Dawn was quick to make the first move, obviously hoping to get rid of any nerves Piplup had, by getting him right into the battle. "Piplup, use Ice Beam, now!"

"Shiftry, use Sunny Day," Clembot ordered quickly, causing Ash to look over at the robot in confusion. How was that attack going to help Shiftry now? Then, just as Ash predicted, while Shifty looked into the air and formed a glowing, yellow orb that floated high above, making the battlefield become very bright, Piplup's jet of icy energy slammed into the Wicked Pokemon, exploding against it and sending it flying back. Ash quickly looked up, noticing that Clembot had lost about ten percent of his points from that, instantly giving Dawn a decent lead. However, the Sunny Day attack seemed to have earned him some favour, and Dawn's points dropped by about half as much.

Dawn didn't seem too worried about that, though. "Piplup, use Ice Beam on the ground, and turn the field into a skating rink!" she ordered quickly, narrowing her eyes as she looked up at the bright orb that was lighting up the field.

"Pip-piplup!" Piplup shouted in agreement, aiming his beak down towards the ground and then firing off the icy energy once again.

"Shiftry, use Solar Beam!" Clembot shouted, raising up an arm with the order.

"Shif-shiftry!" Shiftry growled in answer, leaping up from where he landed after being struck by the ice beam. His body began to glow in a green light, and then very quickly, he thrust out his arms, and a massive, green beam of energy shot out towards Piplup.

Dawn looked stunned by the speed of the incoming attack, and she and Piplup had no chance to dodge. The Penguin Pokemon finished off one quick Ice Beam towards the ground, and was then struck hard by the Solar Beam. "Piiip!" he shouted in pain, as he was thrown back by the explosion, slamming hard into the wall.

Ash gritted his teeth in frustration, seeing Dawn's points shoot down to the three quarter mark. He could see exactly what Clembot's Sunny Day attack was all about, now. Not only did it speed up the use of Solar Beam, but by the looks of it, Shiftry's ability was Chlorophyl, so the speed was further increased. "Dawn's got a tough challenge for this one," he said quietly, watching as the Coordinator stared ahead at the confident looking Shiftry. She'd clearly picked up on what he'd noticed as well.

"Don't worry," Serena said confidently, bringing Ash's attention to her. She looked back, smiling. "As long as she doesn't give up, she'll be fine."

* * *

As Piplup struggled to his feet from where he'd landed against the wall, Dawn stared ahead at the field in front of her. The Penguin Pokemon hadn't covered too much of the field in ice, but he'd done enough. They just needed to be a bit quicker and not let their guard down. That Sunny Day and Solar Beam combo had caught her off guard, and it had already cost her some serious points and had put her behind early. Another quick attack like that, and she and Piplup would be in serious trouble.

"All right, Piplup, let's get that one back," she called out to her partner Pokemon, who gave his head a quick shake and quickly jumped back out in front of her. "Ready to go?" Dawn asked, smiling at the Penguin Pokemon.

"Pip-lup!" Piplup shouted, nodding confidently and bracing himself to fight.

Dawn watched Clembot closely, suspicious as to why he hadn't ordered an attack yet, considering Piplup had been hit pretty hard. _He's waiting for me to attack so he can use my own attack against me,_ Dawn realized, narrowing her eyes. _Well two can play at that game._ "Piplup, slide on the ice and pick up speed. Then hit Shiftry with a powerful Drill Peck!"

"Lup!" Piplup answered back, tucking in his wings and then leaping forward onto his little ice path. The front of his body hit the ice and then he started sliding quickly towards Shiftry, his beak glowing white and extending out in front of him.

"Wait until Piplup is close, and then counter with Brick Break," Clembot ordered, pointing ahead as he made the order.

 _Just what I thought._ Dawn smirked as she saw Shiftry pull back an arm, the leaves at the end glowing white. Just as Piplup was nearing him, the Wicked Pokemon began to lunge forward, bringing his arm down to strike. "Now, use Whirlpool!" Dawn shouted, doing a fist pump as she made the order, sure that it would work.

"Piiipluuup!" Piplup cried out, just as his beak connected with Shiftry's arm, sparks flying out as the attacks collided. Just as it looked like Shiftry's attack was going to break through, though, the swirling vortex of water began to rise up around Piplup, picking up the grass and dark type off the ground. Dawn smiled as she saw Shiftry swirling around the growing vortex of water and then she looked up to see that she'd now taken the lead, her attack causing Clembot's points to drop to approximately two thirds of his counter. However, she wasn't done yet.

"Piplup, use Ice Beam on the Whirlpool and trap Shiftry within it," Dawn ordered, knowing that she could finish this up fairly quickly if she could make this work.

Clembot seemed to have a plan to counter, though, because as Piplup leaped back, preparing to fire off his Ice Beam, Clembot raised an arm and called a quick order. "Destroy the Whirlpool with Leaf Tornado!"

"Shiftry!" the Wicked Pokemon cried out, once again glowing green due to his ability, before bright green leaves started swirling around him. Dawn clenched her fists as she saw Piplup fire off his Ice Beam, knowing that it wouldn't work. At least, it wasn't working the way she wanted to.

As Piplup's Ice Beam struck the Whirlpool, it did as Dawn had planned, in freezing the swirling pool of water. However, despite Clembot's points dropping a little bit, it was clear he had the advantage. Around Shiftry, who was now stuck in the ice, which was spinning on the field like a top, the leaves were shooting up and swirling around, cracking the ice all around. With a loud shout, the Wicked Pokemon finally exploded the frozen Whirlpool, the leaves spinning and shooting up into the air, lit up perfectly by Sunny Day. Dawn's eyes quickly moved back to the scoreboard, seeing her points plummet so that she only had a little more than half remaining.

"Come on, Piplup!" Dawn shouted, getting her Pokemon's attention, as he was staring up at the leaves in astonishment. "I've got an idea. Let's try one of our old moves. Spin on the ground and use Bubble Beam!"

"Lup-piplup!" Piplup cried out, quickly dropping down on his back, hitting the icy ground beneath him with a flipper, and then rapidly starting to spin. With another shout, he opened his beak wide, and then began firing out a speedy stream of bubbles. However, as the Penguin Pokemon began to spin faster and faster, the bubbles started swirling around, creating some kind of bubble tornado above Piplup. The bright light from Sunny Day lit up the bubbles perfectly, and as they crashed against the leaves and ice, a light spray of water fell over the battlefield, which sparkled in the light. Not only that, but the leaves seemed to get blown to the sides of the field, quickly getting them out of the way and stopping any appeal Clembot was getting from them.

With a quick glance at the scoreboard, Dawn noticed Clembot's points drop quickly below hers, so that they were just under half, while hers remained slightly above half. This was a close one, and Dawn needed to make sure she kept up the heat. She trusted that Piplup could do it, and all that training with Ash had to have helped. "All right, Piplup, jump up and use Bubble Beam on Shiftry while running towards it!"

"Shiftry, send that Bubble Beam back with Solar Beam!" Clembot shouted back, thrusting his arm out in front of himself.

"Shiftry-shif!" the Wicked Pokemon growled, lowering his body and holding up his arms as his body glowed in a green light, lit up even more by the light of Sunny Day. Piplup didn't back down from his charge, though. He kept running, the bubbles shooting ahead of him. Then, just as they were about to strike Shiftry, the grass and dark type cried out, unleashing the massive beam of green energy. It shot forth, shining brightly in the light of Sunny Day, and crashed into Piplup's Bubble Beam, immediately overwhelming it.

"Now, slide and spin!" Dawn shouted, smirking as she realized that Clembot was doing exactly what she wanted. Piplup immediately stopped the stream of bubbles shooting out of his beak, nodding at his trainers order. Then, with the momentum of his run behind him, he leaped forward, sliding on the ice path he'd made earlier. Just as the Solar Beam looked like it was about to strike him, the Penguin Pokemon quickly spun his body, suddenly making it rise into the air, moving along the Solar Beam. "Ice Beam! Straight down!" Dawn commanded quickly, as the Solar Beam ripped into the ground where Piplup had been moments before. She took a quick glance, noticing that she'd lost a few points from her cancelled out Bubble Beam, taking her below the halfway point, but Clembot was now nearing the one third mark, from the missed Solar Beam and unique dodge by Piplup.

When Dawn looked back towards Piplup, she could see that he'd successfully used the momentum from his spin to propel himself into the air and was now firing off a beam of icy energy into the ground. With the speed that he'd acted, Clembot and Shiftry could only watch in confusion as the Penguin Pokemon formed a large ice pillar in the middle of the battlefield, with a flat surface at the top which he stood on, and a smooth surface at the sides, almost like a slide. He stood up straight, looking quite pleased with his work, before looking down at his opponent. Another quick glance at the scoreboard showed that Clembot's points had dropped a little bit more, although not by much.

"All right, Piplup, use Whirlpool! Use the height to your advantage," Dawn ordered quickly, narrowing her eyes and watching Clembot and Shiftry, knowing the two would have to act quickly.

And Clembot did just that, quickly pointing upwards towards Piplup, who was forming the swirling pool of water above him. "Shiftry, use Solar Beam and destroy the Whirlpool," he ordered in his loud, robotic voice.

Dawn clenched her fists, watching closely as the Whirlpool expanded above Piplup. Noticing the green glow around Shiftry, it quickly became clear that the water attack would be easily intercepted. _And that's exactly what I want,_ Dawn thought with a smirk. As soon as Piplup finished forming the swirling pool of water, he thrust his flippers forward, sending the attack down to Shiftry. The Wicked Pokemon was quick to respond, though, launching his powerful beam of green energy which quickly impacted with the whirlpool, spraying water all around the field.

"Now, Piplup, Drill Peck!" Dawn shouted, pointing ahead, desperate to take advantage of their opportunity.

"Piplup!" Piplup shouted, already on the move as he dove down the ice pillar, flippers tucked in. He built up speed so quickly, that as he hit the ice below and continued to slide, his beak was only just beginning to glow white. However, as he quickly approached the stunned Shiftry, who hadn't anticipated such a quick attack, the Penguin Pokemon's beak quickly extended, stretching out to almost three times its original length. With one last shout, Piplup drove his beak hard into Shiftry, causing the latter to cry out in pain before being launched backwards, sliding along the ground.

Dawn quickly glanced up at the scoreboard, seeing that Clembot's points were now down to well below the one quarter mark. "Quick, Piplup, use Ice Beam and finish this off!" she shouted, smiling as she could sense their victory.

"Pip-piplup!" Piplup shouted out happily, quickly jumping into the air, pulling his head back and then firing off the beam of icy energy. Shiftry was only just getting to his feet from the Drill Peck attack when the Ice Beam struck him hard in the chest, causing him to cry out in pain and drop to one knee. Dawn narrowed her eyes, looking up at the scoreboard, noticing Clembot's points still hadn't gone completely down. However, there were only about ten seconds remaining, and it was clear that she was about to win.

"Shiftry, hit Piplup while it's in the air. Use Solar Beam!" Clembot suddenly shouted. Dawn's eyes widened, looking up at the startled Penguin Pokemon who was still airborne after leaping up to fire off his Ice Beam. If that attack hit...

"Shiftry-shif!" Shiftry shouted, body glowing bright green. The energy was building up quickly, once again. _Seven, six, five,_ Dawn counted down, jaw clenched as she watched on in fear. Then, suddenly, the battlefield seemed to grow much darker, and Dawn's eyes moved up to see that the glowing yellow orb from Sunny Day was now gone. She quickly moved her gaze back to Shiftry, noticing he was still building up energy, but the green glow wasn't nearly as bright.

And just then, the buzzer sounded, signalling the end of the battle, causing Shiftry to quickly end his attack, while Piplup landed safely and turned around to face Dawn.

"Congratulations, Dawn Berlitz," Clembot suddenly called, recalling Shiftry to its pokeball and standing up straighter. "You have successfully completed the four and a half star advanced level screening Contest battle. You are now permitted to register for advanced level Contest courses."

There was a loud cheer from Dawn's right, and she looked over to see Ash and the others happily celebrating her victory. Ash gave her a thumbs up, while Pikachu did a little victorious fist pump and the others, despite having only just met Dawn, seemed just as happy. She then moved her gaze over to Piplup who was running up to her, eyes shining with happiness.

"Great job out there, Piplup!" Dawn congratulated her partner, kneeling down and catching him as he jumped towards her. "This was just step one, but I think we're already getting back on track towards our goal."

* * *

Clemont and the others were currently waiting out front of the battlefield which Ash was scheduled to have his screening battle in. As standard battles were a little more popular than the Contest battles, the wait time for Ash was slightly longer, so they had to wait for a while after Dawn's battle had finished. Clemont had actually assumed Serena and Shauna might not have much interest in Ash's battle, being Performers, but quickly found that not to be the case, when the two of them asked Ash if they could watch his battle. Serena seemed particularly excited.

"So, Ash, who are you going to use for your battle?" Tierno asked, as their wait continued. "I'm guessing you'll go with Greninja, right? He's definitely got some good moves." With that, the dancing fanatic gave a little twirl, before looking at Ash once again.

"Uh...no, I'm actually gonna go with Pikachu for this one," Ash answered, looking a littler perplexed by Tierno's little dance move. "Pikachu and I started our journey together, so we might as well start this new part of our journey together."

Tierno looked confused by that, staring at Ash with his mouth gaping open. "But...Greninja's your strongest, isn't he? He beat Sawyer's Mega Sceptile and gave that Charizard a close fought battle in the Kalos League."

"I think it makes sense," Serena chimed in, smiling towards Ash. "I know that I wanted to battle with Braixen for the same reasons. It was only right to win this battle with her. And I know Pikachu will be great. He was amazing in the Kalos League."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said happily, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment, looking a lot like Ash as he did it.

Ash nodded, glancing up at Pikachu with a fond look, before turning his attention back to Tierno. "Pikachu and I always start our new journeys together. He's my best friend and there's nothing like starting off a new journey with your best friend. It's probably the same for you and your Blastoise, right?"

Tierno thought about that for a moment, and then smiled, seeming to understand. "Yeah, I guess so. That's why I used him here. Blastoise and I like to move and groove."

"I don't think it should be any problem for you no matter who you use, Ash," Shauna said jokingly. "Those Pokemon you used at the Kalos League were all really strong. You were the only one who even came close to beating Alain."

Ash chuckled a little nervously, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, they're pretty great. I left Noivern, Hawlucha and Talonflame with Professor Oak, though, and Goodra is actually staying at the Wetlands to protect the wild Pokemon there."

Clemont narrowed his eyes in confusion, looking at Ash. "You only brought Pikachu and Greninja with you? If you're here for battling, why would you only bring two Pokemon?"

Ash shrugged, eyes moving in the direction of one of the battlefields where an explosion could be heard. Some of these screening battles had been particularly intense, and the smoke billowing out of said battlefield was evidence of that. "I can always call up Professor Oak whenever I need more Pokemon, but like I said before, I like to start my new journeys with Pikachu. And, well, there's still a lot I need to figure out about Greninja." When he said that, he exchanged a look with Dawn that made Clemont think there was something up, but the inventor didn't press the issue, understanding that it was clearly something Ash wanted to avoid talking about for now.

"What about you, Dawn?" Shauna suddenly asked, causing everyone in the group to look towards the Coordinator. "What kind of Pokemon do _you_ have? Besides Piplup, I mean. I'd love to see what they look like in a Performance."

"I've got a Buneary, Pachirisu, Quilava, Mamoswine and Togekiss," Dawn answered, smiling proudly. "They're great, and they all work really hard. I don't know where I'd be without them."

Serena leaned in with interest, her and Shauna now both having their attention on the Coordinator, clearly wanting to know more, after seeing the similarities with what they do. Clemont noticed that Tierno seemed to be watching closely as well, although Clemont got the sense that the dancing fanatic was just interested in Dawn. He'd watched her battle very closely, muttering about her "rhythm" being perfect. "Can you show us some of your performances later on?" Serena finally asked, looking at Dawn hopefully. "Some of the moves Piplup used were really beautiful."

"Sure, I don't see why not," Dawn said, shrugging. "And I'd like to see you perform as well. Those fireworks you made with Hidden Power in your battle were amazing!" Her eyes widened with even more excitement. "Maybe we can have a Contest battle? I think you'd make a great Coordinator. We could see how we match up."

"I'd like to try that," Tierno suddenly said, making everyone look at him in surprise. He took a step back, looking a little uneasy. "I don't know...it just...looked kind of fun. Obviously battling is cooler, but..."

Ash then shook his head stepping over to Tierno's side and putting his arm around the larger trainer's shoulder. "Don't be silly, Tierno," the raven-haired trainer said happily. "Just because Contests and Performances are different, doesn't mean they're not cool. You just have to look at what Serena and Dawn did to know that."

"Yeah," Tierno muttered, awkwardly smiling at his newest friend, "yeah, you're right. So maybe...maybe I should give it a go later on. Would that be all right with you, Dawn?"

"Sure," Dawn answered happily, giving him a thumbs up. She then paused, looking up as though deep in thought. "You mentioned that you really liked dancing, right?" Tierno nodded, eyes widening a little bit. "Okay, well I bet that will come in handy if you want to try a Contest battle."

"Tierno, maybe you should try out being a Coordinator," Trevor suggested, looking at Tierno with a knowing look.

"Nah...I'm a battler, Trevs," Tierno said quickly, shaking his head. "I competed in the Kalos League, because I'm a battler. That's the best thing for me."

Clemont decided to speak up here, starting to get the idea of what was going on in Tierno's mind. "There are lots of ways to become a better trainer, Tierno," the inventor pointed out, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. He then gestured to Ash, Serena and Dawn. "Look, Ash is a great battler, and that's how he's grown as a trainer. Serena is a Performer, and that's how she's grown as a trainer. And," here Clemont looked at Tierno closely, "Dawn is a Coordinator, and that's how she has grown. You could see evidence of that in her battle. You could see it in Serena's battle as well. Different paths to standard battling can be just as helpful in becoming a better trainer."

There was suddenly the sound of a buzzer in the battlefield they were all waiting outside of, and Clemont knew that it signalled that Ash's time to battle had arrived. The raven-haired trainer clearly knew it too, because he quickly gave a confident fist pump, before rushing to the doors of the battlefield. "All right, Pikachu," he said confidently, standing at the entrance, "let's go show them what you're made of."

Ash quickly disappeared as he rushed into the battlefield, and the rest of the group all stared after him in amusement for a moment. Then, Serena quickly rushed forward, followed by Dawn, and then the rest followed suit. As Clemont entered the battlefield, he quickly realized that many people seemed to be heading towards it from behind him. Clearly people had found out that it was time for Ash's battle, and Clemont could sense their excitement. He couldn't blame them for it, though, as he was probably just as excited. Before today, he didn't even think he'd ever be seeing the raven-haired trainer ever again.

Once he entered the battlefield, Clemont could see that Ash had already positioned himself in the challenger spot, while Clembot stood at the opposite end. Clemont was shocked to see that Serena was already sitting in the front row, having managed to grab seats that Shauna and the others were now occupying. _Wow, she certainly seems excited,_ Clemont thought to himself. He quickly made his way over to where they were all sitting, and sat down next to Dawn.

Just as soon as Clemont had taken his seat, someone sat down next to him, and he turned his head to see an elderly woman with greying blonde hair, who was holding a walking stick in front of her. Before he could say anything, Dawn looked over from next to him, instantly lighting up in excitement. "Agatha, hey!" she greeted, waving to the old woman. "Did everything go all right with Professor Sycamore?"

"Oh yes," the woman, Agatha answered with a smile, as a man with a red Afro sat down next to her. "The Professor was just informing Flint and I of some of the expectations he had. Nothing we weren't already aware of. I'm sorry we missed your screening match, though." _Flint and Agatha...they're Elite Four members!_ _They're from Sinnoh and Kanto,_ Clemont realized, eyes widening a bit.

"It's okay," Dawn answered cheerfully, before looking at Clemont. "I had Clemont and all these other new friends of mine to cheer me on. And Ash, of course." With that, the Coordinator quickly began introducing the group. Serena seemed more interested in watching as Professor Sycamore, who had just been talking to Ash, approached the sidelines, apparently taking the role of referee again. However, the honey-blonde gave the two Elite Four members a friendly greeting, before turning her attention back to the battlefield. Tierno and Trevor seemed to also recognize the two powerful trainers, each staring in amazement and muttering barely audible greetings. Shauna didn't seem to know them, but greeted them happily regardless. "Agatha and Flint are actually going to be our teachers," Dawn informed everyone, smiling at the two Elite Four members.

"Really?" Clemont asked in amazement. He couldn't help but smile widely in excitement. This was an incredible opportunity! It was rare enough to actually get to meet an Elite Four member, but to actually get to learn from one, and in this case _two_ , it was truly a special opportunity. "Wow, I hope I can be a good student."

"Well if Dawn says you're all right, then I think we'll get along well," Flint said jokingly, as he looked out towards the battlefield. "Interesting...looks like Ash is going with Pikachu. Looks like you were right, Agatha."

"Of course I was right. I know how a Kanto trainer thinks. He knows how to battle, that one," Agatha assured the group, nodding confidently. "Gave my Gengar a tough go of it a few years back. That Pikachu is a real handful."

Clemont didn't really know what to think about that, as he doubted that Ash had actually properly battled an Elite Four member before. _He's good, but he can't be_ that _good, can he?_ He looked out towards the battlefield and saw Clembot raising an arm, the pokeball firing out of it. With a flash of light, a massive, brown, armoured Pokemon with a long horn on its nose and thick, orange, rocky plates all over its body.

"A Rhyperior..." Flint muttered, sounding slightly nervous. "That's not an easy one for Pikachu. Electric attacks won't have any effect."

"I'm sure Pikachu will be fine," Agatha told him confidently. "Remember, Ash was second place in the Kalos League, and that Pikachu was a big reason why."

Clemont's gaze quickly moved over to Ash, and he was surprised to see that the raven-haired trainer seemed to be sweating a bit. He still had a confident grin on his face, but Clemont still had the sense that Ash was a little uneasy. _Come on, Ash,_ Clemont thought, watching as Pikachu braced himself for battle, _show us the Ash who nearly won the Kalos League._

* * *

Serena was shocked at how quickly Ash ordered his first attack, despite having watched so many of his Kalos League battles. "Pikachu, start things off with Thunderbolt!" he shouted, pointing ahead with a confident smirk.

"What's he doing?" Trevor asked suddenly, as Pikachu shouted in confirmation and then charged up the electricity in his cheeks. "Rhyperior is immune to electric type attacks."

Serena doubted Ash was ignorant to that knowledge, but whether he was or wasn't, it was too late to stop the attack now. Pikachu leaped high into the air, staring straight down at Rhyperior as the electricity started shooting out of his cheeks. "Chuuu!" he cried out as he unleashed the attack.

The jet of electricity seemed to look a little weaker than Serena had anticipated, and as it rushed towards Rhyperior, Serena took a quick glance towards Ash, noticing that he seemed to be watching closely, as if waiting for something. As it rushed towards Rhyperior, the Drill Pokemon just stood still, the electricity rushing towards the horn on his nose. As it struck, it was immediately drawn to the point of the horn, and seemed to grow weaker and weaker until the attack finally disappeared.

As soon as the electric attack was fully extinguished, Serena looked back over to Ash and Pikachu, surprised to see them both smiling. What could they be happy about? Pikachu's best moves were useless, so the two of them were already at a huge disadvantage. She voiced her question to the rest of the group, as Rhyperior stretched out, looking energized after absorbing the attack against him.

Flint was surprisingly smiling at the sight in front of him, nodding as though he approved. "Ash has managed to figure out Rhyperior's ability with the very first move of the match," the Elite Four member explained. "Pikachu's Thunderbolt was absorbed, so do you know what that means?"

Serena shrugged, glancing back towards the field as Clembot ordered Rhyperior to use Rock Blast. Ash quickly countered by ordering Pikachu to dodge with Quick Attack. As the electric mouse darted around the field, narrowly avoiding the large rocks being hurled at him, Serena answered Flint. "Most ground types would just be unaffected by the attack," she said slowly, tensing up a bit as Pikachu just barely ducked underneath another rock, "but Rhyperior actually absorbed it. So his ability is like the one Sawyer's Mega Sceptile had back at the Kalos League."

"Lightning Rod," Tierno whispered, nodding, clearly thinking about how his Raichu's electric attacks were useless against it.

Serena watched the battle for a few more moments, relieved to see Clembot and Rhyperior give up on Rock Blast, as Pikachu had managed to dodge each attempt. "All right, Pikachu, let's go on offence. Use Iron Tail!"

"Counter with Drill Run!" Clembot shouted immediately, thrusting his arm out with the order.

Serena couldn't help but gasp in surprise as the massive Drill Pokemon started spinning its body with incredible speed. The attack was true to its name, with Rhyperior truly looking like a drill as it shot towards Pikachu, dirt flying up around it. The electric mouse was prepared with his own powerful strike, though, leaping into the air and stretching his tail out behind him. Then, just when Rhyperior reached him, Pikachu swung his glowing white tail towards the Drill Pokemon, meeting the attack head on.

The colliding attacks created a shockwave of energy, which carried wind and dust out towards the crowd. Serena had to cover her eyes, waiting for the dust to settle. When she was finally able to open them again, Pikachu and Rhyperior were still seen straining against each other, sparks flying out from where their attacks met. With one last shove from each, both leaped back, sliding a long the ground.

"See," Flint started to explain, as Ash ordered a Quick Attack, while Clembot ordered a Brick Break, "Ash now knows that he'll need to keep most of his attacks close range, since Pikachu's electric attacks can keep him at a distance, but if used, they'll actually improve Rhyperior's special attacks." He paused, watching closely as Pikachu darted forward, a white aura around his body. As Rhyperior brought down a glowing white fist, the electric mouse met it head on. The two Pokemon once again strained against each other, desperate to push their attacks through, until finally, with one last push, Rhyperior managed to shove Pikachu down, sending him crashing to the ground. With another swipe, Rhyperior smashed his fist into the electric mouse again, sending Pilachu flying back towards Ash's side of the field, before landing hard, dust shooting up as he hit the ground. "The problem is that Rhyperior has more brute strength, and has the advantage with close range fighting," Flint finally added, wincing a little as he watched Pikachu struggle to his feet.

Dawn spoke up here, now looking just as confused, and worried, as Serena felt, especially after seeing Pikachu get thrown back like that. "But how is it good if Ash knows that, when it doesn't give him an advantage."

"Oh he's got the advantage, I can tell you that right now," Agatha said confidently, eyes narrowed as she looked over towards Rhyperior. "Ash can use what he knows to his advantage. Just you watch."

Serena quickly looked over to Rhyperior, wondering why Agatha seemed so confident. For a moment, the Performer didn't notice anything, only seeing Rhyperior glare ahead at Pikachu. However, the closer she looked, the more obvious it became. The Drill Pokemon seemed to be wincing, and barely visible along the rocky plates on his body, were little sparks, which shot off in all directions. "He's paralyzed," she whispered, looking back towards Ash, seeing him smirking as though he'd planned this.

"Pikachu's ability, Static," Flint explained quickly, leaning forward in excitement. "Now let's see what Ash can do with this."

"All right, Pikachu, hit him with Iron Tail!" Ash shouted confidently, narrowing his eyes and pumping his fist as he made the order.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, looking like he'd been given an energy boost after seeing the paralysis come over his opponent. The electric mouse darted forward, his impressive speed on full display. Within a couple of seconds he was leaping up in front of the wincing Drill Pokemon and flinging out his glowing white tail. "Chuuu-pika!" Pikachu roared, his tail slicing upwards, striking Rhyperior right under the jaw, sending him staggering back.

"Don't let up! Use another!" Ash shouted, clearly wanting to land as many super effective hits as possible while Rhyperior struggled to move.

"Kachu!" Pikachu shouted in confirmation, spinning with the momentum from his previous attack and striking Rhyperior once again, landing this attack on the Drill Pokemon's rocky chest, sending it falling back onto the ground.

"Rhyperior, use Rock Blast, now!" Clembot suddenly shouted, and Serena quickly noticed that the sparks dancing around Rhyperior's body seemed to have lessened, opening up an opportunity for him to strike.

"Rhy! Perior!" Rhyperior roared, still on his back as he quickly formed a massive rock between his arms. With another roar, it sent the rock straight ahead, just as Pikachu was about to land from his back to back Iron Tail attacks.

The electric mouse was struck with full force, the huge rock exploding hard against him and sending him flying backwards, bits of rubble around him. "Pika!" he shouted in pain, eyes shut tight as he flew through the air and then hit the ground hard.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted in concern. Serena thought he was about to run out onto the field, but just then, the electric mouse was quickly able to rise to his feet, wincing in pain, but looking more determined than ever to continue on. "You all right, buddy?" Ash asked, smiling at the sight of his partner Pokemon's determination.

"Chuuu," Pikachu growled in the direction of Rhyperior, before nodding at Ash's words.

Ash then looked up, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Clembot and Rhyperior. Before he could make an order, though, Clembot continued his assault. "Rhyperior, attack Pikachu with Drill Run!" he yelled, thrusting his arm forward.

"Perior!" Rhyperior roared, immediately dropping low and spinning as he'd done before. Within a couple of seconds, he was once again spinning like a drill and another roar could be heard just as he began to launch himself forward towards Pikachu.

"Wait for it, Pikachu," Ash cautioned, surprising Serena a little bit. What was he waiting for? Then, as the gap quickly began to close, Ash quickly called his order. "Quick Attack, straight ahead! Spin at the last second!"

Pikachu nodded and shot off like a bullet, dust shooting up from where he'd been a moment before. Just as he approached the dangerous looking drill heading straight for him, the electric mouse shouted, "Pika!" before jumping up and spinning his body to the left.

"Just like Piplup!" Trevor pointed out suddenly. Serena nodded, glancing over at the Coordinator and seeing her looking somewhat pleased that Ash had used her tactic.

Looking back at the battlefield, Serena saw Pikachu easily land on the ground behind Rhyperior, sliding to a stop before turning around. Rhyperior, having missed the electric mouse, skidded to a halt, before turning around himself, clearly hoping to go into a run once again. However, Ash and Pikachu were ready.

"Iron Tail!" Ash shouted quickly, with Pikachu already, bolting towards Rhyperior.

Within about a second, Pikachu closed the gap, leaping up in front of Rhyperior, his tail glowing white. "Chuuu-PIKA!" he yelled, pulling the tail back, spinning, and then slamming it hard into the Drill Pokemon's nose.

"Hit it back with Brick Break and then use Drill Run!" Clembot shouted, sounding somewhat excited, despite his robotic voice.

Unfortunately for Ash, the paralysis was still unable to hold Rhyperior back. With a loud roar, the Drill Pokemon pulled back a fist as it began to glow white, and then slammed it forward, striking it hard into Pikachu's chest and sending him flying back, where he rolled across the ground, landing a few feet in front of Clembot. Immediately after, Rhyperior crouched low, before spinning rapidly once again. Within a couple of seconds, he was off again, shooting towards Pikachu with his Drill Run.

Serena was almost wanted to cover her eyes, but her body seemed somewhat frozen. She watched in fear as Rhyperior rushed towards Pikachu. It almost seemed like it was in slow motion. "Don't give up, Pikachu," she whispered to herself.

"Electro-Ball! Straight down!" Ash yelled suddenly. There was no hesitation whatsoever. The electric mouse, despite being a little winded, charged up a massive sphere of electricity at the tip of his tail, and then fired it down below him, just as Rhyperior was about to strike. An explosion of dirt enveloped the two Pokemon, and Serena was almost sure that Pikachu had been unable to avoid the attack. But Ash knew exactly where his loyal partner was, and Serena followed his gaze to just above the cloud of dust, where Pikachu was glaring down towards his opponent below.

"Now he's using your moves, Serena," Dawn pointed out with a laugh. "That was just like Braixen with Fire Blast."

Serena blushed a little at that, not sure what to think. She hadn't even thought about what she was doing in her battle, but Ash seemed to have been somewhat inspired by it.

"Let's finish this up, Pikachu," Ash called confidently, pulling his hat backward, a confident grin once again on his face. "Thunderbolt!"

"What's he doing?" Clemont exclaimed, leaning forward in surprise. "That's just going to help Rhyperior."

Serena pursed her lips, heart racing as she watched the jet of electricity shoot down towards the clearing up dust cloud. She could just see the attack being drawn towards Rhyperior's horn, weakening upon impact, almost looking like it was being absorbed. The Drill Pokemon stood straighter, aiming his horn up as he absorbed the attack.

"This battle is over," Agatha suddenly said, chuckling and resting her chin on her walking stick which she held in front of her.

Serena narrowed her eyes, watching the scene in front of her. What was Agatha talking about. "Iron Tail!" Ash shouted, punching the air in triumph with the order.

That's when Serena understood. As Rhyperior absorbed the last of the energy from Thunderbolt, Pikachu descended quickly, tail glowing white in preparation to strike. "Chuuu...PIKA!" he roared, lashing out with his tail and striking the Drill Pokemon hard in the middle of the head.

"And one more time!" Ash yelled, his voice sounding so confident Serena might have thought it was already over if she wasn't watching.

"Counter with Brick Break!" Clembot shouted, holding his metallic fist up in front of himself.

Then, just as Pikachu landed and leaped up once again, his whole body spinning as he lashed out with his tail, Rhyperior brought up a glowing fist to counter. However, just before he could bring it up to block, his body seized up, sparks dancing all across his body, the paralysis shutting down his attempted attack. Pikachu took full advantage and with a loud, "Chuuu-PIKA!" he slammed his tail hard into Rhyperior, sending the Drill Pokemon flying back with surprising force. It landed hard on the ground to Clembot's left, and the result was clear.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle! Pikachu and Ash are the winners!" Professor Sycamore shouted happily, as the crowd of students cheered.

 _He's just like he was back at summer camp,_ Serena thought, as she watched Ash celebrating, running up happily to the exhausted Pikachu. _He doesn't give up._

 **Author's Note:**

Yes, the handkerchief Serena used was _the_ handkerchief, but did it need to be stated. Dense Ash just didn't notice. That was kind of weird, wasn't it? I had more GreninjaXBraixen than anything else. That was supposed to be like Froakie cleaning Fennekin's fur, but it probably would've been too much to have Greninja actually do it. I don't overdo things _that_ much. Why am I talking about the much less relevant ship?

Other than that...Tierno...very obvious at this point. I think it's perfect what I've got planned there. It just fits.

And, the battles. Got a little bit of Counter Shield from Dawn, along with the spin dodge, which Ash used later on. Hopefully the battles were good. I did my research, and I'm 95% positive that Static can paralyse a ground type. If I screwed up on that, well...I'll change it later. But I think it's right. Let me know on that one. And also, if Serena seems too obsessed with Ash, let me know about that, too. So until next time, see you then.

Review Initiative: I think today I'll recommend Champions and Crushes by potat lasaro. I'm about halfway through it and it...is...awesome. So go on and read that, please...if you haven't already. And I'm sure you'll enjoy it.


	9. Moving In

**Author's Note:**

Took a while to get this out, huh? Sorry, things have been pretty busy with me. I should be able to get another chapter out fairly soon, though. But as for this chapter, it's a weird one and it was tough to write. Honestly, how do you write Ash moving in to a university correctly? Who the hell knows? It was very weird, but hopefully I did an acceptable job. I also added in a new character, which is somewhat necessary, but also sort of not. I will explain later. Well...that's that, I guess. I'll address some other things in the second author's note.

 **Chapter 9: Moving In**

Not long after Ash had finished his battle, Professor Sycamore had gathered a large group of the students who had successfully finished their screening battles and had sent them off with some of his assistants for tours of the campus. Clemont and his new group of friends, along with a few others, were sent along with Sophie, which he was pleased with since he knew her pretty well at this point from all the work he'd done with Professor Sycamore. She showed the group around much of the campus, which even Clemont was surprised to see, after only really seeing blueprints and pictures. He'd noticed a lot of construction around the area in the previous months, and only recently had it become clear why.

Everything was in perfect condition. Sycamore had somehow managed to get access to a large portion of the West end of Lumiose City, and there were numerous buildings set up with signs and highlighting them as lecture halls and residence buildings, training facilities and offices. Even having been aware of the setup while some of it had been going on, Clemont couldn't help but join his friends in their excited whispering as Sophie showed them all the various locations of the university.

After touring the campus, Sophie then showed the students some of the shops, cafes and restaurants nearby. Ash ended up holding back the group a couple of minutes when he got distracted by some of the food, joined by Pikachu excitedly sniffing the air from his shoulder. Eventually he snapped out of it, though, and rejoined the group. He wasn't the only one to get distracted through this part of the tour, however. Serena, Shauna and Dawn, along with a couple of other girls in the group, rushed towards a dress shop, while the males tried to keep their distance. Tierno spotted a Pokemon that was performing a dance routine with its trainer, almost looking like he was about to join in, until he was called back by Sophie.

By the time the tour of the campus and the surrounding parts of the city was over, Clemont could already tell that things were looking good for the beginning of the university. Once the group had returned to the registration building with Sophie, the Professor's assistant going inside after asking the group to wait outside, the inventor looked around at his new group of friends, happy to see them all looking so excited about what was to come. He couldn't believe how easy it had been to become friends with them all so quickly. He'd met Serena and Shauna so briefly the last month, but that had opened the door to him becoming friends with not only them, but Tierno and Trevor, and, amazingly enough, Ash and his friend Dawn. For someone who buried himself in his inventions and Gym Leader duties, Clemont was amazed at how this had all fallen into place for him.

"Hey Clemont, you okay?" Ash's voice suddenly asked, causing Clemont to jump up a bit. His glasses slid down his nose a bit and he quickly adjusted them, looking up to see his friends all looking at him kind of strangely. "You all right, Clemont?" Ash asked again, looking at the inventor with a bit of concern.

"Huh? Um...yeah, I'm fine," Clemont answered quickly, waving his hands in front of his face and smiling at the group. "I'm just thinking about the school, that's all."

Ash nodded in understanding, before turning and smiling towards the rest of the group. "This place looks great! It looks like there's going to be tons of stuff to do here. I'm not too sure what to expect from the classes, but those training facilities looked pretty awesome. What do you think, Pikachu?" he asked, glancing up at the electric mouse.

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed happily, pumping his little, yellow fist in excitement.

"Do you know if the classes are going to be really hard, Clemont?" Tierno asked, glancing towards the registration building. "Is it harder for battling classes than for Coordinator classes?" His eyes then moved over to Dawn. "Not that I'm saying Coordinator classes should be easy...I'm just wondering about them."

Trevor smirked and nudged Tierno with his elbow. "You seem awfully interested in coordinating, Tierno. Is something up?"

Tierno quickly shook his head. "No, nothing...it's nothing." Clemont narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He'd been a little confused earlier about why Tierno had been watching and commenting on Dawn's battle so much. Trevor was right. Tierno was _very_ interested in coordinating. _I'll have to ask Professor Sycamore to give him a chance at a contest battle,_ Clemont told himself.

"The classes aren't going to be easy, but the idea is that if you were able to get through the screening battles, that you'll be able to get through the classes," Clemont said, answering Tierno's question. "That's all I really know. We've already done what I set up. It's new for me as well at this point."

"I'm kind of nervous about the classes," Serena admitted, looking a little embarrassed. "It's not like I've been doing any kind of schoolwork recently. Even if the classes are focused on Pokemon and performing, I don't know how prepared I am."

"You'll do fine!" Ash told her confidently, standing up straighter. "You did an awesome job with your battle, so I'm sure you'll do well with your classes as well. I'm sure everyone will. As for me, I know I'll be fine as long as I get to battle enough. I can't wait to learn more about the Interschool Pokemon League. It seems like an awesome challenge from what Professor Oak told Dawn and me."

As soon as Ash spoke those words, Clemont thought of his own wish to join the Lumiose University battling team. He had to admit, the thought of how difficult it would be to make the team had crossed his mind as soon as Ash had shown up. Standing right in front of Clemont were now three trainers who had participated in the Kalos League. The Lumiose Gym Leader knew he wasn't a bad trainer, but these three, along with any other trainers here he didn't know about, made it a difficult task. _I just have to see where it goes. I'm not here just for that. I have a lot to learn from my classes as well._

"It sounds like it'll be pretty tough," Trevor chimed in, looking seriously at Ash. "From what I know, a lot of trainers that could compete in league competition are in school while they run. There are plenty more tough trainers for us to battle out there. It should be the same for Coordinators and Performers."

"Oh I hope most of us can make it onto the teams," Shauna said a little worriedly. "Some of these trainers looked pretty good in those screening battles. I know we've all done well before, but it's a little nerve wracking."

"No need to worry," Dawn told her confidently, although Clemont noticed a hint of nervousness in her eyes as well. "We just have to do our best, just like we did in our screening battles."

Serena nodded, looking at Shauna with a smile. "As long as we don't give up, we'll at least make a strong case to be on the team." She then looked around at the group, taking a deep breath. "It would be really great if we could all get the chance to work together for this."

Before anyone could answer Serena, the doors of the registration building opened up, and Sophie emerged, holding a stack of papers in her hands. "All right, everyone, if you could please follow me, I'll be taking you to the registration offices next door so that we can get everyone registered for their classes." She then took a step forward towards the group, holding out the stack of papers to the nearest student, in this case Clemont, who took the stack. "These are the full list of courses available, which many of you will already know about. Some are not going to be available until your second and third years. Please look over and confirm your choices once we are at the registration offices." As she turned away and began leading the group further down the street, Clemont quickly took one of the lists, before handing it off.

As he glanced down at the list of courses, Clemont felt his nervousness about this unfamiliar environment almost double. Worrying about making it onto the IPL team was instantly pushed to the back of his mind with all the names of the different classes in front of him. He'd obviously looked into what classes he'd be taking before, but now the that he was actually about to officially select them, his nerves were acting up much more. _I think I'd rather take on the Machoke again than have to make these choices_ , Clemont thought to himself.

"That's kind of weird," Ash suddenly said, walking next to Clemont. The inventor looked over to see Ash staring at his list with a bit of confusion. "It looks like there isn't too much of a battle focus in the first semester."

"Well, just because you're in the advanced classes, it doesn't mean you'll be battling all the time," Clemont informed Ash, forgetting his own course selection a little. "You'll still learn some of the fundamentals, but it'll be applied in a more advanced setting. Like the abilities class will involve you learning about an ability and finding out its strengths and weaknesses, before applying it in a fast paced battle. Kind of like what you did with Rhyperior's Lightning Rod earlier."

Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah...I wasn't really thinking too much about that. I just knew that if it had Lightning Rod, I'd be able to distract it while Pikachu attacked at a key moment. I guess it'll be good to learn about those more. I understand some abilities, but others are a challenge for me sometimes." He then glanced at his list again, once again looking a little confused. "This says Standard Battle Trainers have to take a Pokemon Healthcare course and a Pokemon Breeding course. Why is that?"

Before Clemont could answer, Serena came up to Ash's other side, holding up her own list in front of her as she walked. "It's the same for Performers," she said quickly, pointing out the required courses under the Performers section of the courses list. "It makes sense, though, doesn't it? We need to be able to understand how our Pokemon develop and how we can make sure they remain healthy."

"Oh...right, I probably should have realized that," Ash admitted, looking up at Pikachu a little guiltily, although the electric mouse just looked amused. "Well, in that case, I'll make sure to become just as good of a Pokemon doctor as Nurse Joy."

Serena giggled a little at that, while Pikachu gave an exasperated shake of his head from Ash's shoulder. Clemont then pointed out the information for the class on Ash's list. "I don't think you'll be getting into it _that_ much," the inventor informed Ash with a laugh. "It's mostly basic healthcare and making sure you can care for your Pokemon until you can get it to a Pokemon Centre."

"All right," Ash said, looking quite interested in the whole thing as he scanned his list. "Wow, things are going to be really busy, here, aren't they? I can't wait to get started."

"There's definitely a lot to learn," Clemont admitted, glancing at his own list and seeing the many classes available for him. "We might be in the advanced classes, but we're still beginners when it comes to this whole school thing."

"You can say that again," Ash muttered, scratching his head as he continued to look at the courses, just as the group of students stopped behind Sophie out front of the registration offices. "Battling in the Kalos League is easier than just saying some of these course names."

* * *

The group of students that had taken the tour of the campus together were now all in a room in the registration offices, each sitting at a computer while they selected their courses. Dawn was sitting next to Serena, who was on her left, and Tierno, who was on her right. The Coordinator was not exactly having an easy time with this task, and seeing Serena clicking away next to her made her feel a little uneasy that she wasn't able to pick her courses so easily. Of course, Tierno seemed to be even more confused than her, so she wasn't alone.

There were so many courses to choose from and if Dawn was being honest, she didn't see how a lot of them would be useful to her for coordinating. She did notice, however, that many of her classes seemed to fit in with both the battling and performing courses, so she was a little confused as to why Serena seemed to be picking her courses so quickly.

"I don't know what to pick. I can't decide which classes I should use for battling and performing," Dawn said aloud, glancing over and watching as Serena selected a course title "Appeals" which Dawn realized would probably suit her needs as well and she quickly picked it as well.

"Maybe since you're a Coordinator, you should try to balance it out between battling courses and performing courses," Serena suggested, looking over at Dawn's screen which only had the mandatory Pokemon Healthcare and Breeding courses, along with the Appeals course she'd just added.

Dawn shrugged, rubbing her tired eyes while she tried to think through some of her options. There weren't exactly many good options for her, as the battling courses were mainly theoretical to begin with, and oddly enough didn't appear to be battle-focused. She was more interested in _doing_ something, rather than sitting in a class and listening to a teacher talk. _Ash is gonna go crazy,_ she realized, smirking a bit at the thought. She finally opened her eyes and looked at the course list again, before glancing at her screen. "Maybe I should do something that will help with my performance skills first, and then I can work on battling in the next semester. And I'll hopefully get battling practice anyways if I can make it onto the IPL team."

"That's a good idea," Serena said happily, smiling at the Coordinator. "I'm taking Grooming, Fashion and Appeals so that I can focus on making my Pokemon look and feel good during our performances. Maybe that's something that would work with you as well. The Pokemon are focused on even more than the trainer during Contests, aren't they?"

"Yeah, the Pokemon is the star," Dawn answered, feeling a little more relieved that she had an idea of where to go now. She liked Serena's suggestions, and knew that they'd work for now, and that she could select more battle courses later on. "Fashion and Grooming...those would really work. Don't you think, Pipulp?" she asked, looking down at the Penguin Pokemon who was resting underneath her chair.

"Pip-piplup!" Piplup nodded in agreement, looking excited, although probably more so because Dawn was looking happier now.

Serena nodded, looking quite pleased that Dawn had managed to make a choice, although the Coordinator did realize that she was essentially just copying Serena's classes. _Whatever, it's still useful to learn and I'll be able to make my Pokemon look and feel much better during Contests, just like Serena said._

"I'm still really confused on what to pick," Tierno said suddenly, and Dawn turned to see him eyeing her screen with her class choices so far. "Do you think it would be a bad thing for my battling classes if I took the Appeals class?" he asked, glancing away nervously.

"I think that would be a great idea. You seem pretty interested in coordinating," Dawn told him, thinking of some of his previous comments about it. "I think you should give it a try. Who knows? Maybe you'll turn out to be a great Coordinator, rather than a dancing battler."

Tierno chuckled a little uneasily at that, but nodded, while he quickly selected the Appeals class for his first semester of courses. He continued to search through some of the other courses in silence, and Dawn noticed he kept on pausing over many of the Coordinator focused classes or the battle classes that would be of use for coordinating. _He might be in the wrong program,_ Dawn thought to herself, biting her lip as she watched the dancing enthusiast struggle to choose his courses.

Over the next few minutes, Dawn continued to look over her class options and discussed some of the possibilities with Serena and Tierno. While Serena seemed the most at ease, Dawn and Tierno were still able to finish up making their choices. Serena seemed to have picked up on Tierno's interest in coordinating as well, and she and Dawn were able to convince him to take a couple more classes in that field, although he didn't need convincing for the dance class offered in the second semester.

Once Dawn finished up with her course selection, she decided to head over to where Ash was sitting with Clemont, while Serena and Tierno went over to where Shauna and Trevor were sitting. As Dawn approached, she smirked at the sight of Ash pestering Clemont with questions. He was clearly becoming a little uneasy with the idea of sitting in a classroom after his years of travel and battling.

"I get to battle in this class right?" he asked, as he pointed towards one of the classes on his list. "What about this one? There's no way you can't battle in Pokemon Nutrition class! Food helps Pokemon fight!"

Dawn was wondering if Ash was joking, but once she saw the look on Clemont's face, she quickly realized that this wasn't even the most ridiculous class that Ash had declared battles necessary for. The inventor glanced at her, looking like he was a little exasperated and Dawn noticed that he'd already finished his course selection, while Ash was only about halfway done. "Ash, I think part of the point of these courses is to help you be a better trainer while _not_ battling."

Realization seemed to suddenly hit Ash and he stared at Clemont blankly for a few moments, before looking back at his computer and laughing. "Wow, I guess I just really wanted to get into battling, but that does make sense. I do need to make sure Pikachu and my other Pokemon are well taken care of."

"And learning about developing your Pokemon, their abilities, types, all that stuff. It might be boring sitting in a class while you learn it, but you'll be able to apply it soon enough," Clemont added in, smiling in relief at Ash finally understanding.

"Picking these courses is tough, isn't it?" Dawn finally said, sitting down in an empty chair next to Ash, which a student must have just vacated, as she saw one approaching Sophie, who was now talking to the assistant she recognized as Cosette. "I pretty much just copied Serena for my first semester classes. If the classes are this hard, I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Ash nodded as he seemingly rushed through picking the rest of his courses. Dawn could tell he'd already spotted the ones he wanted, though, because he seemed to be looking at circled ones on his list before selecting them on his computer. She supposed his complaining to Clemont was just to see if he could find any more battle-focused courses. "I just hope Pikachu won't get too bored. Do you know what our Pokemon are supposed to do during classes?" he asked, glancing over at Clemont.

"The student residences each have facilities where you'll be able to leave your Pokemon for the day," a voice suddenly said from behind them, and Dawn turned to see that Cosette was now standing behind them. "I'll be able to show you once you finish up here. Your dorm rooms have all been assigned and your belongings are all there."

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, clicking a few times as he finished confirming his course choices and then backed away from his computer. "I can't wait to see it. Sounds like it'll be a good place for you and Greninja, don't you think, buddy?" he said excitedly, looking up at Pikachu.

Pikachu actually didn't look too excited, as Dawn could see his cheeks were twitching and his eyes were narrowed. However, the brief look of irritation left his face and he smiled at his trainer. "Pi-pikachu!" he exclaimed quickly. He clearly didn't like the sound of splitting up with Ash, but was trying to embrace it for his trainer's sake.

It took a few more minutes for everyone to finish up with their course registration, but eventually everyone was finished and Cosette and Sophie led everyone back outside. There were a few other assistants helping out as well, and some of them already had groups of students with them. Dawn soon realized that everyone was getting split into groups for the assistants to take the students to their residences. She couldn't help but give a worried glance to her friends, wondering how far away they'd end up being from each other.

Ash noticed her slightly panicked look and gave a sad smile. "Hey, we're still friends even if we're not in the same residence."

"Yeah," Clemont said in agreement, as they watched students begin to get called into their groups. "Besides, I'm sure we won't get scattered across the campus. Our classes are mostly in the same area, so we'll probably be fairly close."

"I know...I guess it's just been fun so far with the little group we've made," Dawn admitted, glancing over at Serena and Shauna who were watching to see when their names would be called. "As long as it's comfortable for Piplup and the others, I'll be happy with it, I guess."

With that, Dawn suddenly heard her name called, and she glanced up to see that Cosette had called her name. She felt a little relieved as she saw Trevor and Tierno heading over as well, followed bye a few other students, including an excited pink-haired girl with a Jigglypuff. Knowing that they would at least be nearby made her a little relieved. She turned and said a quick goodbye to Clemont and Ash, before beginning to walk over. Serena and Shauna waved to the Coordinator as she passed them and she smiled back, hoping the rest of her friends would be placed together, as clearly Serena and Shauna were good friends and it seemed like Ash and Clemont were getting along well too.

As their group began to head out with Cosette in the lead, Dawn began walking next to Trevor and Tierno. "Looking forward to finding out what our rooms look like?" she asked, hoping she wasn't the only nervous one. This would be her new home and it was somewhat of a scary prospect.

"Well if it's like the rest of this place, I think we should be pretty happy," Trevor pointed out, gesturing towards all the well kept buildings of the university around them. "It sounds like we'll have a good place to leave our Pokemon as well so we don't need to keep them in their pokeballs all the time."

"Yeah, Cosette mentioned that earlier," Dawn said, looking ahead to the purple-haired assistant leading them towards their destination. She then glanced down to Piplup who was waddling along next to her. "I think Piplup will stay with me, though."

It wasn't long before they rounded a corner and Cosette stopped, signalling for the large group of students to stop behind her. "All right, everyone, this is your new residence," she said, pointing up to a large building about three stories high and spread out wide along the street. There was yet another sign above the entrance which welcomed all new students. Dawn could see that there must have been a few other groups that had already gone inside, because she could see lights on through some of the windows. "This residence is called the Chesnaught Building. To the right," she then pointed to the right of the building and Dawn noticed two other buildings further down the street, "are the Quilladin and Chespin buildings which house the intermediate and beginner students. We hope that you'll be able to help them along as best you can, being in the advanced classes."

"Um, excuse me!" a girl suddenly called out from behind Dawn. The Coordinator turned her head and recognized the girl with the Jigglypuff that she'd seen before. "I'm not in the advanced classes. I'm a beginner." The girl was in a pink T-shirt and jeans. She had long, pink hair which was done up in loops at the side and bright, blue eyes which looked pretty nervous at the moment. Dawn's eyes widened at the sight of this girl. She looked like a younger version of Nurse Joy, but without the nurse outfit.

"Oh, right," Cosette said quietly, reaching into a bag and pulling out a clipboard. "Marie Joy, correct?" _Well that explains a lot,_ Dawn thought to herself as the girl, Marie Joy, nodded. "Unfortunately we ran out of room in the beginner residences so a few students had to be moved to the others. "You'll be with Dawn Berlitz." Cosette's eyes then moved to where Dawn was and she smiled encouragingly. "Is that all right, Dawn?"

Dawn's eyes widened a moment, shocked at the sudden announcement of her roommate. She glanced over towards Marie, who was looking a little nervous, but also somewhat excited. _It could definitely be worse,_ Dawn thought, before smiling at her new roommate. "Yeah, that's fine. I'm sure we'll get along great."

* * *

"Welcome to the Greninja Building," Sophie announced, turning around in front of the tall residence building and looking at the gathered students in front of her. Ash's eyes scanned the building quickly. It looked normal enough. It was three stories high and spread out along the side of the street. He could see some lights on through the windows which showed that a few people were already inside. He looked to his left and saw Serena looking excitedly up at the building.

"This looks all right, don't you think?" he asked the Performer, glancing back and seeing that Shauna and Clemont were looking impressed as well.

"Yeah," Serena said quickly, turning her attention to Ash, "and it's great that we'll be in the same building. Too bad Dawn, Trevor and Tierno aren't here, though."

Ash nodded as Sophie called for the students to follow her inside the building after quickly explaining that there were two other buildings next to this one that were called the Frogadier and Froakie buildings. Apparently they'd be working with them in the future. "That's all right, though," Ash finally said to Serena as he looked around the lobby of the building which had a few elevators in the middle and what looked like a large dining hall on one side, while some kind of indoor forest was on the other side, which he assumed was the place for Pokemon to stay while their trainers were in classes. He could see that there was apparently a lower level as well, along with an extension outside the building. "I think we'll still be able to spend time with them," Ash finished, looking back at Serena, who was also looking around the lobby of the building.

Serena nodded, looking ahead to Sophie who had just stopped in the middle of the lobby between the elevators. "All right, everyone, this will be your new home. The Greninja Building is home to to many of the advanced students, although we do have some beginners and intermediates here as well. Upstairs are the dorm rooms, of course, but down here, we have the dining hall where you will have your meals, along with the Pokemon Habitat where you will be able to leave your Pokemon. We ask that you only leave a maximum of six, though, and that you make arrangements with either Professor Sycamore or someone back home to leave anymore Pokemon so that we can keep enough space here."

"Oh, I bet Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon will love it there!" Serena exclaimed, looking at the habitat through one of the windows. Ash could now see that it was far better than just a forest. There was a pond and various streams, along with a miniature mountain that he could see a Mankey was climbing on.

"If you would like to leave your Pokemon here before we go upstairs, you're free to do so," Sophie announced, seeing that not only Ash and Serena, but most of the students, were staring at the habitat in awe.

Ash quickly called out Greninja, while Serena, Shauna and Clemont all called out their Pokemon as well. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to," Ash told Greninja, who looked back at him with confusion after seeing what was going on. "Pikachu's sticking with me for now, so you can as well."

"Braixen-brai!" Braixen suddenly shouted, patting Greninja on the shoulder with her paw and then turning and following Clemont's Luxray through the opened doors to the habitat. Greninja turned and gave an uneasy look towards the fox Pokemon, but eventually shrugged and followed. Before he went in he turned and gave a quick nod to Ash.

"Greninja's a bit stubborn, isn't he?" Shauna asked, watching as her Ivysaur went out of sight. "He probably wants to be in a battle right now, huh?"

Ash nodded, although he had a pretty good idea about why Greninja wasn't looking too happy. They hadn't exactly done much training lately with Ash preparing for school. At least, nothing that would help them with their Ash-Greninja form. Ever since losing to Alain and then collapsing against Gary, Greninja had been so focused on getting stronger. He probably wasn't too ecstatic about lounging in a makeshift forest.

For the time being, though, Ash had to just hope that Braixen and the others could make it an enjoyable enough visit for Greninja. Ash wanted to get back to training as well, and he wasn't going to forget a huge reason for why they'd come here. _Greninja, Pikachu and I, along with all my other Pokemom, will get stronger and we'll win together._

"Come on, Ash, let's not fall too far behind!" Clemont suddenly called from a few feet in front of Ash, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned to see that Shauna and Serena were all following the group of students towards the dining hall, where Sophie was presumably about to show what kinds of meals would be available to them. Obviously this was something Ash could not miss and he quickly made his way over to the group.

"This will be where you'll have your meals. Dinner will be tonight, after you've all unpacked and been settled into your rooms." Ash immediately started to wonder about something that was clearly not only on his mind, but his friends' minds as well. Sophie answered the question without needing to be asked, though. "You are free to eat at any of the residences, so long as there is enough room," she informed the students, and Ash breathed a sigh of relief along with his friends.

They had a brief look at the dining area and looked at the lists of what kinds of meals would be served. Ash was immediately happy to see that some of his favourite food would be available, not only from Kalos, but from other regions as well. He supposed it made sense, given the fact that many students were coming from the other regions, just like him.

After their little tour had finished, Sophie quickly led everyone back out to the lobby, before standing between the elevators and pulling out a clipboard. "All right, everyone, so now that we've finished our little tour, I'll be giving you your room numbers and room keys," she explained, holding up one of the room keys as an example. It had a little Greninja figurine as a key chain. "There are three floors and each floor will have a laundry room. The rooms each have one bathroom, a small kitchen and a small lounging area, along with two private bedrooms. There isn't a lot of space, but it should fit your needs. Each room comes with a computer and pokeball storage. You can even use your computers to transfer Pokemon to and from home if need be."

"Awesome, it'll be easy to bring back some of our old friends. Isn't that great, Pikachu?" Ash asked excitedly, this little bit of knowledge being the most important to him out of everything that Sophie had said.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu answered excitedly, smiling at the news.

At that, the group of students immediately went quiet as Sophie began reading off the list for roommate pairings and the room numbers. Eventually she stopped, once she'd listed off all the students except for Ash and his friends. "Well, lucky for you four, you'll be paired with your friends right away. Ash and Clemont, you two will be in room three-oh-nine and Serena and Shauna, you'll be right a couple doors down in room three-oh-five. All your belongings should be in your rooms. Clemont, your father and sister arrived earlier with some of your inventions. They've been let up and will be there once you go up."

"Okay, thanks," Clemont said, taking his key turning towards the elevator. "Hopefully Bonnie hasn't destroyed our room," he muttered to Ash, who took his key as well, before they walked into one of the opening elevators, followed by Serena and Shauna.

"Who's Bonnie?" Ash asked, clicking the button for the third floor and watching as the elevator doors closed.

"Clemont's sister," Serena explained, smiling with an amused expression. "She's really cute. She was teasing Clemont a lot earlier today before the screening battles started."

Shauna giggled, apparently remembering whatever Clemont's sister had been doing. "She kept on asking us to 'take care of Clemont'. Do you know what she means by that, Clemont?" she asked sweetly, looking at Clemont with a smirk and narrowed eyes.

Clemont blushed, looking very uneasy. Ash was relieved for him when the elevator doors opened, although he wasn't expecting the inventor to leap out like he did and immediately start rushing down the hallway. Ash smiled and just followed Serena and Shauna out the elevator and the three of them made their way down the hall, following the direction Clemont had gone.

It was pretty much what Ash had expected. The halls were pretty bare, except for a few pictures of Pokemon on the walls and some pictures of famous trainers, such as Diantha and Aria. The rooms seemed fairly well spread out, and Ash assumed there were probably about twenty-five of them. The rooms spread out along both sides of the hallways.

They finally rounded a corner and Ash immediately got his introduction to Clemont's little sister, as the little blonde girl instantly appeared in front of Serena and Shauna. "Serena! Shauna!" she shouted excitedly. "Please, will one of you take care of my brother?"

"BONNIE! I've told you a million times!" Clemont yelled embarrassment all over his red face. Ash glanced up and noticed the inventor was standing next to a man who was probably his father, out front of what was likely their room. He clicked a button on his backpack and a cable with some kind of hand on the end of it extended out and plucked Bonnie off of the ground and carried her back over to where Clemont was standing. "Please, stop doing that, Bonnie," he said tiredly.

Ash exchanged an amused look with the girls in front of him, and then the three of them made their way over to where Clemont and his family were standing. Ash glanced up and noticed that they were, indeed, standing in front of room three-oh-nine. A quick glance inside showed him a small hallway with a little closet which would presumably hold his shoes, jacket and things like that. Just past that, he could see the entrance to the small kitchen, which just had a little fridge, a sink, a counter and a small stove. He didn't plan on doing any cooking, but he supposed Clemont might make use of it. Past the kitchen, Ash could see the small lounging area, and to the left of that, he could see a small hallway which presumably led to the two rooms.

When Ash looked back at Clemont and the others, he noticed the inventor's father was looking at him with interest. "Well, well, isn't this quite the surprise?" he said excitedly, reaching a hand out to Ash. "Ash Ketchum, correct? My name is Meyer, and this is my daughter, Bonnie," he greeted, gesturing to himself and then Bonnie as Ash shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Ash said, smiling back to him, before looking over towards Bonnie, who now had a Dedenne perched on top of her head. "You too, Bonnie. And don't worry, I won't get Clemont into too much trouble. I don't think you need to find someone to...um...take care of him."

Bonnie shrugged, as though it wasn't that big a deal to her. "It's your choice, but neither of us will be able to help him out forever. He needs a nice girl to take care of him at some point."

Ash just laughed and looked over to Serena and Shauna, both of whom were giggling at Bonnie's antics, although they looked like they were ready to go and check out their own room. "Well, I guess we'll see you two later," Ash told them, turning away from Bonnie. "Do you want to try and eat with Dawn and the others later on?"

"Sure, sounds good," Serena answered quickly, nodding at the idea. "Nice seeing you again, Meyer and Bonnie," she said with a wave, before she and Shauna turned around, heading over to room three-oh-five and opening it up.

"All right," Ash said, turning back to Clemont and his family. "Let's see what our room looks like, Pikachu."

* * *

Serena looked around her room, hands on her hips, feeling pretty proud with what she'd done with such limited space. It wasn't a big room, with just a bed next to the door, a desk along the wall and some drawers opposite it, with a window between them both on the far end of the room. Serena had made up her bed nicely, hung up her Princess Keys along the walls, along with some pictures her mother had taken from her Masterclass Showcase. She'd also made up her bed and stored some of her clothes in the drawers. It wasn't perfect, but overall, she was quite happy with how her room looked. From the sounds of it, Shauna wasn't as happy with the lack of space, but Serena knew that she'd be able to make do eventually.

With most of her organizing done, Serena decided to take a brief rest and lie in her new bed for a few minutes. So far, it had been a crazy day, and it wasn't really even close to being over yet. She'd started an entirely new adventure, won a Contest Battle of all things, and she'd even met Ash, along with Dawn. She was a little irritated that Ash hadn't remembered her from Professor Oak's camp, but she supposed she'd only remembered him properly a a couple of months ago, so it wasn't fair to be upset about that. She'd hoped the handkerchief would have reminded him, but unfortunately he didn't seem to think anything of it. _Oh well, at least I've made a new friend. A few new friends,_ Serena told herself, smiling at the thought. Things were already starting off so well for her here at university.

 _I wonder what the classes will be like. It seems like it will be pretty basic at first, but they are advanced classes, so there has to be a good reason for it._ Serena looked over to her computer and remembered that they would be receiving their class schedules some time before dinner, so she made a note to check on that fairly soon. She assumed she'd be in a lot of classes with Shauna and Dawn, but she hoped that she'd get to be in classes with the others too, even if just one or two.

Serena continued to lay in bed for a while, thinking about what kinds of things were to come. After a long journey through Kalos on her quest for Princess Keys to participate in the Masterclass Showcase, Serena definitely felt strange about the idea of sitting in classrooms. She hoped that she'd be able to do a lot more with her Pokemon than some of the course descriptions seemed to hint at. She knew that if she made it onto the IPL team, she'd have the opportunity to perform in competitions, but she also liked to train with her Pokemon once in a while, and with all the new things she'd be learning, there would be a lot of new routines she'd be able to try out.

The thoughts of what was to come continued to play through Serena's mind over the next few minutes while she lay in her bed. There was so much that was about to happen. She could barely believe it. It was kind of tiring just thinking about it all. Her eyes grew heavier as she imagined working away at homework, training with her Pokemon, hanging out with her new friends, competing in the IPL. Before she knew it, there was a knock on her door, and Shauna's voice was waking her up from a dream.

"Serena? Serrreeenaaa!" Shauna called out, knocking on the door again. "Are you in there? I thought you should know that the class schedules have been sent out. We should check them out before we head out for dinner."

Serena quickly hopped out of her bed, rubbing her eyes to wake up a bit more. She then rushed over to her door and opened it to let Shauna in. "Sorry, I fell asleep. It's been a pretty tiring day so far."

"I don't blame you," Shauna told her, laughing a little. "I nearly fell asleep too, but I think I was too frustrated with fitting all of my things into such a small room."

Serena shook her head, laughing at the thought, and then she and Shauna headed over to her computer. It took her a couple of minutes to get logged on, and then she quickly found her schedule and opened it up.

 _Monday: 8:30am-9:50am – Pokemon Healthcare – Nurse Joy_

 _Monday: 1:00pm-2:20pm – Grooming – Suzie Yuki_

 _Tuesday: 10:00am-11:20am – Breeding – Reggie Weyland_

 _Tuesday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Fashion – Paris Hudson_

 _Wednesday: 8:30am-9:50am – Pokemon Healthcare – Nurse Joy_

 _Wednesday: 1:00pm-2:20pm – Grooming – Suzie Yuki_

 _Thursday:10:00am-11:20am – Breeding – Reggie Weyland_

 _Thursday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Fashion – Paris Hudson_

 _Friday: 8:30am-11:20am – Appeals – Fantina Melissa_

"Wow, that's...a busy schedule," Shauna said slowly, after the two of them looked over it for a few seconds. There wasn't exactly much to say, given the fact that neither of them knew too much about the teachers, or even the classes, with the exception of Nurse Joy.

"Well it looks like I'll be getting up early in the morning on most days," Serena sighed, not exactly liking that idea, especially with Monday and Friday. The classes did seem interesting from what she'd seen earlier, though, so hopefully that would be enough motivation for her to wake up in the morning. She quickly printed out her schedule, and then looked at Shauna. "Let's see what you've got, now." Shauna nodded and then she leaned forward and logged into her own account, before opening up her own schedule on screen.

 _Monday: 8:30am-9:50am – Breeding – Reggie Weyland_

 _Monday: 1:00pm-2:20pm – Grooming – Suzie Yuki_

 _Tuesday: 10:00am-11:20am – Pokemon Healthcare – Nurse Joy_

 _Tuesday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Fashion – Paris Hudson_

 _Wednesday: 8:30am-9:50am – Breeding – Reggie Weyland_

 _Wednesday: 1:00pm-2:20pm – Grooming – Suzie Yuki_

 _Thursday:10:00am-11:20am – Pokemon Healthcare – Nurse Joy_

 _Thursday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Fashion – Paris Hudson_

 _Friday: 8:30am-11:20am – Appeals – Fantina Melissa_

"Awesome, we've got three of the same classes!" Shauna exclaimed happily. "Too bad Healthcare and Breeding got swapped."

"Well I'm glad we're at least in a few of the same classes. Hopefully some of the others will be in the classes we don't have together," Serena said hopefully.

After a few more minutes of looking over their schedules and talking about their classes, the two performers decided it was time to head out. "I guess we'll go and see if Clemont and Ash are ready first," Shauna suggested as they stepped out into their little hallway and made their way to the door.

Serena nodded and then the two of them made their way out of the room, Shauna closing the door behind them. Serena then led the way towards room three-oh-nine. Just before she was about to knock, though, it opened and Ash's face emerged from behind the door.

"Oh, hi Serena," he greeted quickly. "Are you two ready for dinner? Dawn sent us a message that she and the others were gonna come here."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Serena nodded, stepping back so that Ash could get out. A few moments later, Clemont emerged as well and then they locked up, before the group set off towards the elevators. Serena noticed that Ash and Clemont had their new schedules in their hands. "Oh, what schedules do you guys have? Maybe we have a class together."

Ash held his schedule out to her. "Here, have a look. I hope I'm gonna have enough time to train with all these classes, but it looks like it's gonna be tough," he admitted, as he and Serena exchanged schedules. "I hope there's more battling in the classes than I think there is."

Serena laughed, hearing the slight panic in his voice. She was pretty sure that despite the appearance of these classes not having much to do with battling, performing and coordinating at first, there would be plenty of it to do. It was a school focused on those things after all. She glanced down at Ash's schedule, wondering if she'd be able to put him at ease with what she'd be able to see.

 _Monday: 8:30am-9:50am – Pokemon Healthcare – Nurse Joy_

 _Monday: 1:00pm-2:20pm – Levels and Experience – Yuzo Konishi_

 _Tuesday: 10:00am-11:20am – Breeding – Reggie Weyland_

 _Tuesday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Natures – Joshua Ishida_

 _Wednesday: 8:30am-9:50am – Pokemon Healthcare – Nurse Joy_

 _Wednesday: 1:00pm-2:20pm – Levels and Experience – Yuzo Konishi_

 _Thursday:10:00am-11:20am – Breeding – Reggie Weyland_

 _Thursday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Natures – Joshua Ishida_

 _Friday: 8:30am-11:20am – Abilities – Augustine Sycamore_

"Oh cool! We have Healthcare and Breeding together," Ash said happily as he handed Serena's schedule back to her, while taking back his own. "Breeding should be interesting. I had no idea he'd be teaching here, but I know Reggie. He's the brother of one of my rivals, Paul. He definitely knows his stuff so I bet he'll be able to teach us a lot. Clemont will be in the same class as well for that."

"I wasn't really expecting we'd have any classes together," Serena admitted, as the group arrived at the elevators and stopped, while waiting for them to open. "I bet we'll have a few classes with Dawn," she said, turning to Shauna as the elevator doors opened and the group headed in.

The group went down the elevator in relative silence, but once they stepped out, they were met with a great deal of noise coming from the dining area. However, Ash quickly noticed Dawn, Trevor and Tierno, who were all standing with a girl who Serena was sure was a younger version of Nurse Joy. The group quickly headed over to greet their friends.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Ash greeted happily, standing at the front of the group. "I guess you two are roommates, right?" he asked, looking at Trevor and Tierno.

"Yeah," Trevor answered, smiling. "I guess we got lucky, or they just knew we were friends or something."

Everyone began heading inside, and Ash and Serena slowed up to walk alongside Dawn and the young Joy who was with her. "Is this your roommate, Dawn?" Ash asked, holding his hand out. "Hi, I'm Ash Ketchum." he greeted, before looking up to his shoulder. "And this is my partner, Pikachu," he finished, before looking back, while Pikachu chirped out a greeting.

"I'm Marie Joy," the girl greeted, shaking hands with Ash and then Serena. "Dawn invited me along. I hope that's all right."

"Sure," Serena said happily, "of course it is."

"Marie is here for the beginner's battling courses," Dawn explained, while the four of them lined up behind their other friends. "There wasn't enough space, so she got paired with me in our residence."

Serena glanced at the young Nurse Joy, looking a little confused. "So, are you not interested in becoming a Nurse Joy?" she asked, hoping it wasn't an insulting question.

"I am," Marie explained, smiling as though the question didn't bother her. "I just want to learn how to battle as well. I always like watching the Pokemon Leagues on TV. By the way, Ash, you were really awesome at the Kalos League."

"Haha...thanks," Ash said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and exchanging an embarrassed look with Pikachu.

"Anyways, I just think learning a little bit of battling would be fun. I had to beg my parents to let me come here, but eventually I managed to convince them that it would be useful for becoming a Nurse Joy." Marie then pulled out a pokeball and held it up to the group. "And my Jigglypuff needs to get stronger anyways, if it's going to be a Wigglytuff that can help me with my nursing."

Dawn nodded, watching as Marie put her pokeball back. "I think it's a good idea. It's kind of like how I wanted to improve my battling skills a bit so that I could use them in Contests."

"Battling is a great way to improve your bond with your Pokemon," Ash said seriously, exchanging a look with Pikachu. "I'm sure that you and your Jigglypuff will grow a lot together throughout your time here. And maybe when you're ready, we can have a battle."

"That would be awesome!" Marie shouted happily.

They continued their wait in line in relative silence, and then finally they reached the buffet style setup and were able to get their food. Ash ended up stacking his plate so high, Serena was sure he was about to drop it all over the floor, but he somehow made it over to the table where Clemont and the others were waiting. When they reached the table, Dawn quickly reintroduced Marie to the group, and then everyone sat down.

"So what kinds of schedules do you guys have?" Serena asked, once they were all comfortably seated. "I have three classes with Shauna, two with Ash and one with Clemont. It looks like there's a lot of early morning classes."

With that, there was a rapid exchange of schedules as everyone began looking over each the lists while eating. Eventually, everyone seemed to have had a good look at the schedules, and Serena managed to get hers back without any food stains on it.

"Cool, so I have Pokemon Healthcare with you and Ash!" Marie said excitedly, looking at Serena. "I'll be able to help you guys out if you have any trouble. Hopefully my cousin won't be too hard on us all."

"The Nurse Joy teaching the class is your cousin?" Serena asked, not exactly surprised.

"Yeah, well, second cousin once removed or something like that," the young Joy answered, rolling her eyes at the confusing family titles. "Anyways, she's seemed nice enough from family gatherings and stuff, so hopefully it'll be fine."

"And it looks like I have Fashion and Appeals with you and Shauna," Dawn said to Serena, eyes lighting up with excitement. "And Tierno's in our Appeals class as well. That one will be _really_ fun, I think. I can't believe Fantina will be teaching it!"

"I guess that means her gym will be empty again," Ash muttered quietly, chuckling a little, Pikachu joining in. Apparently there was a joke everyone else seemed to be missing.

As they continued to eat, Serena looked around at the group, feeling a great sense of comfort. This had been an exhausting day, and she knew all these classes would be tiring and difficult. However, with all these new friends, she couldn't be more excited about the future. With her new friends and her Pokemon, she would become a much better Performer, trainer and person overall.

 **Author's Note:**

Okay, first thing would be this Marie Joy thing. My original plan was to have an Alola character like Lillie or something. However, I didn't feel that would be right since I have no idea what those characters are like yet. Then, I considered putting in Miette, but realized that she wouldn't fit in that role. I needed someone who wasn't going to be on the IPL team and Miette might return...somewhere else. Anyways, Marie Joy just kind of popped into my head when I planned this. I thought, "It might be kind of interesting to have a young Nurse Joy in the school." Why? I don't really know. Does she have a role in the story? Yes, but not a massive one. Did she have to be in it? I think so. It's kind of hard for me to explain, but hopefully as we go along, it'll be easier to understand what I've got going on.

And classes and dorm rooms. I set those up so that the three Kalos starters and their evolution lines are the residence buildings in case that wasn't obvious enough. And also, Serena's room is three-oh-five, because Braixen is number five in the Kalos Pokedex and Ash is three-oh-nine, because Greninja is number nine. Oh, I'm so clever. These groups will be important later on. Well...somewhat important.

As for teachers, well it's kind of hard to come up with them. I have different assistants from a couple of the Pokemon Professor doing some of the classes. Then, I've decided to bring in Reggie for the breeding class, Suzie (one of Brock's loves) for the grooming and Paris (a character of the day from one episode) for fashion. For last names I used either Japanese names or voice actors. Again, I'm so clever. Flint and Agatha will be in next semester for Ash, don't worry. And they'll have...another role for this semester.

So that's that. Next chapter will have the classes beginning! I look forward to that for sure. So I'll see you then.

P.S.

To those of you who read the Bonnie fic, I'm sorry, but it's unfortunately been cancelled. Many of you know already, but just in case you don't I'm letting you know here. I couldn't keep up with it and it was becoming increasingly difficult to write it. I will, however, say that it will likely return one day. I just need to deal with all my crap first.


	10. Get Your Ash to Class

**Author's Note:**

Ugh...sorry about how long this took. I am unbelievably busy lately with school. And also, I might have gotten into Pokemon Sun, but honestly, school is the main reason. Oh, and also YouTube. I started a YouTube channel if you're interested. Link is on my Twitter page, since FanFiction won't let me post it on my profile...at least I think. Anyways, you're opinion of me, if it isn't already bad, might get worse, but you know...if you wanna roll the dice.

Anyways, as for the chapter. It was fun to write, but it's a bit weird with the whole class thing. I might've gone overboard with Ash being the mind wandering guy who slightly pisses off the teacher. And having all these characters get nervous is a bit much, but I think they are getting nervous for good reason. Remember, school is a weird concept for these people. They never go to school, so it's a crazy new adventure. Whatever, off to the chapter, because you've been waiting long enough.

 **Chapter 10: Get Your Ash to Class**

When Clemont woke up, he could already hear Ash moving around outside of his room. He quickly sat up and grabbed his glasses which he'd placed on the floor next to his bed, and then sighed, still feeling quite tired. They'd had the weekend off after the screening battles and orientation on the first day, but Clemont was still feeling the exhaustion of not only the first day, but all the preparation before that. His friends had seemed to notice as he'd been pretty quiet during the time they'd been spending together during the weekend.

It wasn't like the others weren't tired as well, though, and the group of seven, occasionally including Marie, hadn't been doing too much. They'd mostly been exploring the campus and checking out some of the classrooms. Clemont had been particularly impressed with the classrooms for Levels and Experience, along with the Pokemon Breeding class. There were all kinds of diagrams on the various starter Pokemon of each region, some of them being ones Clemont had never seen or at the very most, had seen once. In the Pokemon Breeding classroom, they'd seen quite a few books on caring for eggs and raising young Pokemon. There were even a few eggs locked in cases near the front of the class.

The group had also checked out the training facilities the school had set up. Students were permitted to use the fields that were in place for the screening battles, but the official training facilities were much nicer. They had a small theatre that could hold about fifty people where performers and coordinators could practice their routines and appeals. There were also battlefields that were designed for both coordinators and standard battlers. The fields included water, grass, ice, rock and plain dirt. Nothing fancy like the Kalos League, but Clemont and the others were sure impressed.

Ash had already gone to the training facilities a few times, accompanied once by Dawn and Tierno and another time by an eager Marie, who was desperate to learn from the more experienced trainer. Clemont was actually a little suspicious that Ash was planning on heading over there this morning, as he'd hinted about it the night before, so the inventor quickly decided to hop out of bed and get ready. He couldn't let Ash be late for the first day of class, even if the best he could do was just make sure his friend was collected by Serena at breakfast.

Once Clemont had gotten changed and sorted out his bag for his first class, he stepped out of his room, looking over to his right and seeing Ash in the small lounging area with Pikachu, the two of them looking somewhat panicked. Clemont couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Ash sitting there on the floor with his backpack open and a pile of notebooks, pens, pencils and even non-school related items like old pokedexes, empty pokeballs and even a huge pile of underwear. Clemont had no idea why Ash would need so much of that, but decided to ignore the thought as he headed over to Ash.

"Good morning Ash," Clemont greeted his friend with a little wave as he stopped in front of the pile Ash had made.

Ash glanced up and gave an embarrassed smile. "Uh...hi Clemont," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about the mess. I kind of left my backpack organization till the last minute. I was hoping to get over to do a bit of training before my class, but all this stuff was...messy."

Clemont laughed, glancing at the pile Ash had in front of him. The raven-haired trainer was definitely right about the fact it was messy, but Clemont was used to this kind of thing. He wasn't exactly a neat-freak himself. "It's no big deal," he told Ash honestly. "You should see my little workshop at Prism Tower," he said, kneeling down and picking up the pile of notebooks. "I've got blueprints and inventions all over the place. You can barely walk in there." He quickly picked out five different-coloured notebooks and handed them to Ash. "This should be helpful for remembering which one is for each class," he suggested as Ash took them.

"Awesome, thanks Clemont," Ash said gratefully, carefully sliding the books into his backpack, before grabbing a couple pens, pencils and pencil sharpener that was designed like a Poliwag. He put it all in the backpack, zipped it up and swung it onto his back, before leaning back down and grabbing his pile of remaining items. "I'll just throw these in my room. If you're ready, why don't we head down. Serena and Shauna will probably be down there."

"Sure," Clemont agreed, heading off to the bathroom as Ash and Pikachu scooped up a couple more of his things and then made their way to their room. After a few minutes, both trainers were ready, and they made their way out.

As they began to make their way through the hall and towards the elevator, they stopped briefly at Serena's and Shauna's room, but realized the two of them had probably already gone down when there was no answer. They then continued on their way to the elevator, Ash pulling out his schedule as they walked. "I wonder what Pokemon Health will be like. I hope Nurse Joy isn't too tough of a teacher."

"What has Marie said about her?" Clemont asked, trying to think of what he knew of this specific Nurse Joy. "Other than them being related I mean."

"Just that she seemed nice the few times they met at family get-togethers," Ash said, still looking at his schedule, then turning his head up to look at Pikachu. "Well the good news is that Pikachu gets to come to class with me. I got a message saying I'd need a small Pokemon with me for the class."

"That's good," Clemont said happily as the two rounded a corner and made their way over to the elevator. "Just like with the screening battle, you two are starting a new journey together."

"Pi-pika," Pikachu squeaked happily, clearly liking the sound of that.

Ash nodded, looking just as happy at the idea. As the elevator opened up and the two trainers walked in, he gave a confident fist pump. "I'm not just gonna be a Pokemon Master, but also a Healing Master as well! Isn't that right, Pikachu?"

"Pi...ka," Pikachu muttered hesitantly, exchanging a quizzical look with Clemont, who didn't know whether or not he should be laughing at the moment.

It turned out Ash was only joking, though, as he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Nah...I guess I'm more suited to the battling, huh?"

Clemont shrugged, thinking of how often he'd wished he'd known more about how to deal with an injured Pokemon, even if just with minimal knowledge. "I think it should still be a useful class, though," he pointed out, glancing up at Pikachu. "You never know when you'll need to care for your Pokemon and sometimes it's not easy to get to a Pokemon Centre."

"Yeah," Ash nodded in agreement as the elevator door opened and they stepped out into the lobby of the building. A few students walked past them, already heading out, despite the fact there was still about an hour before classes began. "Come on," Ash said excitedly, turning towards dining hall. "I'm starving," he added, as his stomach growled loudly. Pikachu's even rumbled a little, although it was much quieter.

When they entered the dining hall, they were quickly called over to a table near the front, where Serena and Shauna were sitting. Each of them already had empty plates out in front of them, clearly having been sitting there quite a while, as they each looked to have been organizing their books.

"Hey guys," Shauna greeted as Clemont and Ash sat down across from the two girls. Shauna seemed to be putting her books in her bag, almost as if preparing to go. She must have noticed Clemont looking a little confused, so she quickly explained as she stood up and shouldered her bag. "I'm meeting Dawn and Tierno at the Chesnaught building since I've got my first class with them. I think Trevor and Marie are heading over here. You've got your first class with Trevor, right Clemont?"

"Yeah, Levels and Experience," Clemont answered, wondering why there couldn't be a better name for that class. He supposed it was too late for anyone to change it now, though.

Shauna nodded, stepping back from her chair and looking at the group. "Well make sure not to let him take pictures the whole time," she said jokingly. Clemont laughed a little, assuring her that he'd do his best.

"Well good luck with your first class, Shauna," Serena said, sounding a little nervous, as if she was the one in need of good luck wishes. "Hopefully Tierno doesn't flirt with you and Dawn too much."

Shauna giggled, waving her hand dismissively. "He's too busy trying to hide the fact that he wants to be a Coordinator. We'll be fine," she assured her friend. The brunette then took a deep breath and turned. "Well, I'm off then. Good luck, guys." The trio remaining at the table bid her farewell and then Shauna made her way out of the dining hall.

As he watched Shauna go, Clemont couldn't help but let nerves begin to get to him. It was all so real all of a sudden. Really, the idea of going to a class seemed like a fun little event in the future before now. Now Clemont knew it was far more than that. It was his life. At the very least, it was a crucial part of it. He had so much to learn from these classes and he needed what he was going to learn, so that he could be a better Gym Leader, better inventor and better person. The reality of those goals being tied to this new journey that started today, was quite nerve-wracking.

"Hey Clemont, you gonna eat?" Ash's voice suddenly called out, causing Clemont to jump up and turn around. He was surprised to see Ash already eating his breakfast. He must have tuned out so much that he hadn't noticed Ash going to get food.

"Oh, right, yeah I should do that," Clemont muttered, pushing his chair back, about to stand up.

"You all right, Clemont?" Serena asked, looking at him cautiously. Even though she had looked nervous earlier, Clemont realized his own nerves must have been showing much more, as both Serena and Ash looked a little concerned. He knew he needed to snap out of it. If everyone else here was managing to get themselves ready for their new journeys, Clemont could as well.

"I'm fine," Clemont answered with as much confidence as he could muster. "I'm a little nervous, but I guess we all are."

"Yeah," Ash agreed, smiling at Pikachu who was licking up some ketchup on a small plate next to his trainer's. "I'm a bit nervous too, but I'm also pretty excited. We all chose to come here, so we might as well give it the best we've got and never give up."

Serena opened her mouth as though she was going to say something, but stopped and just smiled at Ash, before looking back and nodding at Clemont, signalling she was in full agreement. Clemont supposed there couldn't be much argument against Ash's words. They'd chosen to be here, so they had to do their best, because this was the path they all believed could help them to their goals. And never giving up would be tough at times, but clearly that belief had worked for Ash until now, and Clemont would make it work for him as well. _As long as none of us give up, we'll do well. This school is a perfect opportunity for me. I should know that better than anyone else._

* * *

Dawn and Tierno were waiting just outside of the Chesnaught Building, waiting for Shauna to arrive. They still had plenty of time until classes began, but it was clear that she and Tierno were pretty anxious to get going. Their eagerness only increased as they watched students continuously pass them on their way to their classes. Trevor and Marie had left a few minutes earlier, so Dawn and Tierno were hoping that Shauna would be arriving fairly soon.

As they waited, Tierno brought up the subject of their first class. It was clear the two of them were a little nervous, but Dawn supposed that was the case with everyone. "Do you know anything about our teacher for this class, Reggie?" he asked, looking at Dawn expectantly. "Ash mentioned he was from Sinnoh, so I was wondering if you've met him before."

Dawn shook her head, glancing down at Piplup as she tried to think if she'd ever heard anything about Reggie. "I haven't met him before, but I think I might have heard about him when I was travelling through Veilstone City. He used to be a pretty successful trainer himself, I think. Seems like he was fairly well known there."

"Ash seems to like him, so he must be a good guy," Tierno said, looking hopeful. "I wonder if we'll get to see any Pokemon eggs hatch. It'd be awesome to get a Pokemon that I could teach to dance as soon as it hatched from its egg."

"Uh, I wouldn't get too far ahead of myself when it comes to that. We don't know everything Reggie's going to be teaching us," Dawn warned, smirking at Tierno's excitement. "Hatching eggs isn't going to be the only thing he teaches us."

"But it's gotta be part of it," Tierno argued, eyes lighting up in excitement, "and I can't wait for it. If I can learn about this stuff, I can teach a bunch of Pokemon all the best dancing techniques right from birth."

Dawn was about to answer, but just then a voice caused both her and Tierno to turn around. Running up the sidewalk towards their building, was Shauna, looking a little embarrassed and also a little tired. "Sorry I'm late, guys," she panted, coming to a stop in front of them. "I got a little lost, after I noticed someone with a Bulbasaur. It looked so much like Ivysaur back when she was a Bulbasaur. I think it was actually the teacher for the Levels and Experience class that Trevor and Clemont have. Looks like they're talking about starter Pokemon at first."

Dawn and Tierno quickly greeted Shauna and then the trio began to walk, heading down the sidewalk towards the stretch of buildings which held most of the classes. "So how are the others handling today so far?" Dawn asked Shauna.

The brunette shrugged, looking back as though the others were still in sight. "I think they're a bit nervous, but they'll be fine. Clemont's a bit like Trevor, so they'll be fine with their class together and Serena should be able to keep Ash sorted out. And they're lucky to have Marie in their Pokemon Health class."

"Yeah, I wish she was in our class, right Tierno?" Dawn asked jokingly. "I don't know too much about that stuff," she admitted, looking guiltily down at Piplup who was waddling along next to her.

Tierno shrugged, seemingly okay with the whole thing. "I'm sure Professor Sycamore and Nurse Joy know that a lot of us don't know too much about that kind of thing. We should be able to learn the basics and then I think we'll be fine."

"Yeah, no need to worry, I guess," Dawn said, looking up at one of the buildings to their left, where she could lights going on in one of the classrooms. It was almost time for their first class.

They finished the rest of their short walk in silence and came to a stop outside a small building, which was among a line of four small buildings, called the Shinx Buildings, where most beginner classes and the Breeding class would be held. The other sections of the classroom buildings on campus were called the Luxio and Luxray Buildings, which held the intermediate and advanced classes respectively, along with a couple other classes that weren't classified as such, like the Breeding class or Pokemon Health.

Dawn led the way as she, Tierno and Shauna headed in through the main entrance. There was a large lobby at the entrance, but Dawn could see a large group of students gathered at the side to her right, all in front of a door with a picture of a Pokemon egg on the front. She knew that was their destination as they'd already toured the university grounds before. Once they'd made their way over, they stood behind a group of girls who were excitedly talking about the possibility of seeing Pokemon eggs.

"I hope we get to see one hatch!" one of the girls, a red-headed girl in a beanie similar to Dawn's, squeaked out excitedly.

"I really want to see a baby Pokemon!" one of the others added, almost jumping from her own excitement.

Shauna joined in on the conversation, surprising Dawn a bit when she spoke. "Isn't there more to Pokemon Breeding than just eggs and baby Pokemon?" she asked. She didn't ask it in a rude way, but the last girl who had spoken, a girl with long, blonde hair, narrowed her eyes, looking irritated at the question.

Before the angry girl could respond, though, a voice came from behind Dawn and her friends. "That's exactly right. Us breeders definitely need to be capable in raising young Pokemon from eggs, but our work isn't even close to being finished at that point."

Dawn and her friends, along with many of the other students, turned to look at the speaker as he said this. He was a tall man, not actually too much older than his students. He was wearing a what looked like a peach-coloured dress shirt and beige pants. Overtop, was a light turquoise apron. He had long, purple hair, tied in a ponytail at the back. He looked a little amused as all the students continued to turn and look at him. It was fairly obvious who he was.

"Well, good morning everyone," Reggie Wayland greeted the line of students as he began walking up towards the door of his classroom, pulling out a key. "I'm Reggie Wayland, your...um...Professor for Pokemon Breeding." He quickly unlocked the door and then held it open, gesturing for the students to enter. "Go ahead and take your seats and we'll get things started in a moment."

As the students started filing in, Dawn looked excitedly at Tierno and Shauna. "He seems cool so far," she said hopefully.

"Yeah, well we've seen him for a whole two seconds so, let's not get too excited," Tierno told her, raising an eyebrow as they started walking along as the line moved forward.

Dawn was tempted to kick her new friend in the shin, but suppressed the urge as the trio finally reached the front. "Hi Professor Wayland," Dawn greeted politely, smiling at the man as they approached.

"Hello there. And please, just Reggie," he said, laughing as they all stepped into the classroom, being the last ones in the line. "Good work there, by the way," he said to Shauna, stopping briefly at the back of the class. "I have to admit, it's a bit frustrating to be a Pokemon Breeder and have everyone assume I just hatch eggs for a living."

"Oh, well it was pretty much just what our friend Ash told us about you that made me think of that," Shauna said honestly. "Apparently you've met?"

Reggie laughed, looking quite happy at the thought. "Oh yes, I have definitely met Ash. I was surprised to find out he was attending this school, but it looks like he's got some good friends already, so I guess it makes sense." He gave a quick nod to the group, before heading up to the front of the class, which had a large desk, in front of a screen, which Dawn could see a projector for on the ceiling in the middle of the class. To the left and right of the screen were two glass cases with Pokemon eggs in them. Around the room were pictures of all kinds of various Pokemon. There was even a picture near the front of the class that looked like it had Ash in it, battling against a guy with purple hair, an Infernape and Electivire between the two trainers.

Dawn took a quick glance towards her two friends and then gestured to the desks, deciding they should take a seat. There were three columns of desks, going ten rows back, each desk seating three students. Luckily, nobody was sitting in the middle back desk, so Dawn, Tierno and Shauna all managed to sit there.

As Dawn, along with everyone else in the class, placed her bag down in front of her and under her desk, she couldn't help but think about how bizarre this situation was. Even Reggie seemed weirded out by it all as he sorted things out at his desk. He even looked slightly amused by it all, like he thought it was funny that he was about to teach a class.

It took a few minutes for Reggie and the students to get ready, and a few more students filed in as Dawn and the others waited. Eventually, though, it was time to begin, and Reggie made his way over to stand in front of his desk and looked ahead to the students gathered in front of him. Dawn was surprised at how quickly everyone quieted down, as a lot of people had been talking while waiting. Maybe it was the fact it was the first day, and nobody wanted to get on the bad side of their first teacher, maybe it was the fact that the topic of this class was interesting to the students, or maybe it was just that Reggie had a look about him that required enough respect to listen to what he had to say.

"Well, everyone, welcome to your first class at Lumiose University," Reggie began, smiling as he looked at the class. "I know you all must be _so_ excited to have an early morning class to come to every Monday and Wednesday for the next few months." The class chuckled at that, as it was clear Reggie was joking. Dawn was glad that she'd have at least one teacher who understood the difficulties of early morning work. It was one thing when you were travelling on a Pokemon journey, but getting up early for a class was already not an exciting prospect for her. "So," Reggie began again, leaning back against his desk as he spoke, "I think today, we'll start off with a simple little exercise to see what you all know about Pokemon Breeding."

There were many nervous whispers and looks around the room by the students. It was clear that a lot of people were thinking that was a code for a test. Dawn couldn't help but feel a little panicked as well, and glanced at Shauna and Tierno to see them looking slightly uneasy as well. Finally, one student raised their hand and Reggie pointed to them. "Are we having a test?" he asked nervously, everyone listening closely as many were obviously wondering the same thing.

"No, don't worry. We'll keep things fairly casual for the first day," Reggie answered, looking a little amused. "So, I'll just ask you all a few questions and see what you can tell me and then we can see where it goes from there," he informed the class, getting a relieved sigh from nearly every student. "All right, first off, can anyone tell me some of the duties of a Pokemon Breeder?"

As students began to answer and as Reggie confirmed or corrected the responses, Dawn could see some people rapidly noting down what was being said, while others listened closely, just interested in what Reggie had to say. Others seemed to just stare off into space, while some just seemed confused. Shauna and Tierno next to her, seemed to be doing a mix of taking notes and just listening, while Dawn felt more comfortable just hearing Reggie's explanations and answers to some of the questions. For her first class, she had to admit that it wasn't that bad, and the topic seemed quite interesting to her. _I can get used to this,_ she thought to herself, smiling. _No need to worry._

* * *

Serena, Ash and Marie all headed into the small classroom in the Luxio Building, where their first class of their university experience would take place. Ash was quick to lead the trio to an open desk right at the front of the classroom, which Serena wasn't too thrilled about, but she went along nonetheless. Ash was probably just too eager to get a seat that he wasn't thinking about how it might be awkward to be right up in front of Nurse Joy as she taught the class.

The class was fairly small, at least smaller than some of the lecture classes were supposed to be. Serena supposed it was likely due to the fact that it would be easier for the students to learn this particularly important material in a smaller class setting. There were three columns of desks, each desk seating three people, and there were ten rows going to the back of the class. As Serena took her seat next to Ash at the front left desk, Marie sitting down to her right, she could see little packages that looked like first aid kits.

Before Serena could say anything, Ash reached out and picked up the kit in front of him, holding it up close to look at it. "Huh...what's this?" he asked, tilting it around as he examined it. He finally noticed the little, red cross symbol on it and nodded. "Oh, it's a first aid kit. I guess that makes sense."

"Please be careful with the first aid kits I've placed on all your desks," a woman's voice suddenly announced from the back of the class. Serena did her best not to laugh as Ash quickly shoved his hand forward and put his kit back on the desk. He wasn't exactly doing the best job of looking casual as they watched Nurse Joy make her way to the front of the class. Pikachu wasn't helping with his chuckling. "Well," Nurse Joy began, once she was standing in front of her desk, "good morning everyone. I hope you're all ready for your first Pokemon Health class. Today will mostly be an introduction to the course, but we'll try a small exercise to give you a chance to try doing what I do for a living."

"Are we going to be using these?" Ash asked suddenly, reaching forward and picking up his first aid kit again, holding it up and waving it a bit, already forgetting Nurse Joy's warning, apparently. Serena pursed her lips and exchanged an amused look with Marie as he did so, after noticing Nurse Joy look slightly alarmed.

"Careful with the first aid kit, please, Mr. Ketchum," Nurse Joy said quickly, walking over so she was standing closer to the front of their desk. Nobody seemed surprised that she knew Ash's name. His success in the Kalos League had given him some notoriety, particularly at this school. "Yes, today I'll be having you use these first aid kits in a small exercise. The items inside are carefully organized, though, so you must be careful with them."

Ash gave a slightly embarrassed look towards Serena. "I think I heard stuff shaking around in mine," he whispered, eyes widening a bit. "If anything's broken, can I-"

"Mr. Ketchum, please pay attention," Nurse Joy interrupted, eyebrows raised as she looked at Ash. She didn't look angry, but it was clear she wanted everyone to be quiet as she spoke, and obviously Ash wasn't doing too well on that front at the moment.

"Right, sorry," Ash muttered, folding his hands together and putting them on his desk. He was blushing a little from the embarrassment of being called out twice.

Nurse Joy gave a quick nod and then made her way back over to the middle desks to look at the class as she spoke. "So, as you all know, this is a mandatory class, meant to help you to understand the basics of Pokemon healthcare. Professor Sycamore has recruited a number of us to help with the teaching of these classes, but I will be the head Nurse Joy and will be teaching most of the time. For each year that you are at Lumiose University, you will be required to take the Pokemon Health class, and you will be learning more advanced methods of healing in the later years. There's no need to panic, though. We understand that you're here for other reasons. You will just be required to learn the basics and the classes are not designed to make you fail, but to learn."

Nurse Joy continued for another few minutes, formally introducing herself and describing some of the things that she, along with some of the other nurses, planned to teach the students. Luckily Ash was able to stay quiet and listen, so it was easy for Serena to understand what would be going on throughout the semester. It seemed that it would be reasonably simple to start off with, as they'd be learning basic first aid techniques to help a Pokemon out until being able to get them to a Pokemon Centre. It did seem that it would get a little more complicated in the future, but from what Nurse Joy was saying, the hope was that everyone would able to adjust as they went along and eventually be able to keep up with some of the more difficult lessons.

Finally, once she'd wrapped up her introduction, Nurse Joy went around to stand behind her desk and pulled out her own first aid kit and placed it out in front of her. "Now, I think we should keep it simple for the first day, and for our first exercise, we'll learn how to bandage a leg or wing, in order to keep it still. This way, you can ensure that your Pokemon don't hurt themselves further, before you are able to get them to a Pokemon centre, or at least somewhere where the injury can be properly treated." She then looked around the class and turned towards Serena and her friends, eyes going to Ash. "Would everyone please let out their Pokemon that they have brought for today's class? Preferably a smaller one such as Ash's Pikachu, here. Just so we can have enough room," she said, gesturing to the electric mouse.

After Nurse Joy said that, the class spent a couple of minutes getting out their pokeballs and getting their Pokemon sorted out. Serena had decided that Pancham would be her best choice for this exercise, so she released her little panda-like Pokemon onto the desk in front of her, while Marie released her Jigglypuff as well.

"Hi Pancham," Ash suddenly greeted, leaning forward and looking closely at the Playful Pokemon. "We haven't really properly met. I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu," he said, gesturing to himself and then Pikachu.

"Cham-pancham-pan," Pancham replied, turning to Ash and standing up straighter. It looked a little like he was sizing Ash and Pikachu up, but after a glance towards Serena who nodded encouragingly, he gave Ash and Pikachu a smile, as though accepting them.

"Pancham's really good in performances," Serena told Ash proudly, as Pancham and Pikachu started to talk in Pokelanguage. "He was my first catch and he's been a crucial part of the team ever since. I think he was a big part of the reason why I decided to become a Performer."

Ash nodded, glancing at Pikachu and smiling. "You never forget your first catch. Mine was a Caterpie way back when I was ten, right at the start of my journey. I already knew back then that I wanted to be a Pokemon Master, but I think catching Caterpie really made me think that I could reach that goal someday. Eventually he became a really powerful Butterfree, and I knew I was on the right track."

"How's Butterfree now?" Serena asked, interested in hearing about some of Ash's other Pokemon. She'd only met Pikachu and Greninja and the others she'd seen were the ones he'd used in the Kalos League."

"I haven't seen him in a long time," Ash answered sadly, exchanging a look with Pikachu who was looking at his trainer, having heard what he and Serena were talking about. "He met a female Butterfree and I decided he'd be happier going with her."

"Oh..." Serena whispered, feeling guilty about asking that question and bringing a sad memory back to Ash. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's okay," Ash assured her quickly, turning to look at Serena and smiling. "I know Butterfree's happy and that makes me happier than winning a battle. I want to be a Pokemon Master, but I would never do it at the cost of my Pokemon being unhappy."

"That's so sweet, Ash," Serena told him. She could see that he meant every word, just by the look in his eyes. There weren't enough trainers with that kind of determination just to make their Pokemon happy, even if it was painful for the trainer.

"Maybe you'll see Butterfree again, someday," Marie chimed in, clearly having been listening to the conversation as she stroked the tuft of fur on its head. "He might have heard how well you did at the Kalos League and want to come back and fight again."

Ash laughed at that, turning to watch as Nurse Joy raised her hand to get the class's attention. "Yeah," he whispered, "maybe."

"All right, class," Nurse Joy called out, as she gestured to a small Fletchling sitting on the desk in front of her, "so for this exercise, as I mentioned, we'll be learning how to apply a bandage on a Pokemon's leg or wing, in order to keep it stable while it is transported to a Pokemon Centre." She quickly picked up her first aid kit that was on her desk, and then carefully opened it, revealing the bandages, ointments and other various medical supplies inside. "For this exercise, we'll be assuming that the Pokemon has either sprained or broken the appendage and there is no cut that will need to be cleaned," Joy explained, as she pulled out the needed materials, including the bandages and a pair of scissors.

As Nurse Joy began to demonstrate how to securely tie the bandage around the injured leg, using Fletchling's small leg as an example, she explained not to do it too tight for this exercise, but that it would need to be tighter if actually in a situation where it was needed. It was fairly straightforward, and once she showed the class how to tie the bandage, she showed them how to tape it or clip it and then the proper way to carry a Pokemon to reduce movement of the injured leg. She said it was sometimes better not to put a Pokemon in their pokeballs in these cases, as this way you could better keep an eye on its movements.

Once she was done with the demonstration, Nurse Joy called for the class to begin their own attempts at tying bandages on their Pokemon's legs, as she went around to see how they were all doing. Not surprisingly, as Serena, Ash and Marie began to work, Serena could see that Marie was going about the exercise quite easily. Her bandage was perfectly tied around Jigglypuff's little leg, and even though she hadn't tied it too tight, the Balloon Pokemon could barely move it.

On Serena's other side, the sight was also fairly predictable. Ash must have accidentally been tickling Pikachu's foot, because the electric mouse was rolling along the desk in laughter, while Ash desperately tried to grab his foot. "Come on, Pikachu!" he complained, alternating between frustrated expressions, but also laughter. "Gimme your foot. We're gonna fail if you don't let me try this."

Serena bit back a laugh and then turned her attention back to Pancham and her own attempt at a bandage. "Pain, pain, go away," she whispered jokingly as she finished tying the bandage, thinking of that day at Summer Camp. It wasn't as good as Marie's, but Serena was fairly proud of what she'd managed to do. As Nurse Joy came over to look at their work, she praised Marie's as being perfect work and then looked at Serena's work, giving a couple small pointers, but telling her it was excellent for a first try. She then asked Serena and Marie to help out Ash, once seeing that he'd somehow managed to tie Pikachu's tail to his foot, and noticed a few sparks shooting out of the electric mouse's cheeks.

As the two girls began to help Ash with damage control, Serena thought to herself that things were going very well so far. _School isn't so bad,_ she told herself. _And I'm already getting the hang of this Pokemon Health class._ She was also happy to be able to work with Ash and Marie. Ash wasn't having the easiest of times at the moment, but Serena was more than happy to help him out and knew he'd get the hang of it eventually. _So far, so good._

* * *

 _Well, that didn't go perfectly, but it was all right, I guess,_ Ash thought to himself as he and Pikachu waited outside of their Levels and Experience class. He was thinking of how he'd butchered his attempt at bandaging Pikachu's leg, but from what Nurse Joy told him, it was normal to struggle at first, especially with a Pokemon like Pikachu who was used to moving around a lot. Ash had still been unhappy with how it had gone, though, and he and Pikachu had gone back to their dorm room after class and he'd practised a few more times before lunch and then heading over for this class. It wasn't too great, but it wasn't as bad as it was at first.

Now, however, it was time for yet another class, and this time, Ash didn't have any of his friends to accompany him, which made him a little more nervous than he'd been with his first class. Not to mention, he'd never really liked the idea of Pokemon having levels, so this class wasn't too appealing of a subject for him. It was required for the Battling Program, though, so he supposed he would just have to get over it and see what he could do. _Maybe there will be some battling with this class,_ he thought hopefully.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of waiting, the doors to the room opened up, and Ash followed the rest of the students into the class. When he entered, Ash was shocked to see that the class was completely different from Nurse Joy's. He toured the campus a bit and had seen some lecture halls, but he supposed that seeing one after being in a more standardized class was a bit jarring. It was kind of set up like a movie theatre, with rows of seats rising up from a mini stage near the front of the class, with a podium in front of a screen, which was likely connected to a projector that hung above the aisle in between two sections of seats. There were tons of pictures around the room of various Pokemon, mostly starter Pokemon, including pictures for the three Kanto starters at the front of the class. Ash could see a man near the front, with short, blue hair, who was wearing a white lab coat. He seemed kind of familiar, and a moment later, Ash remembered seeing the man when he visited Professor Rowan's lab in Sinnoh. _I wonder if I've met all of my teachers here, before,_ Ash said to himself with a laugh as he found a seat near the left side of the class.

As Ash waited for the class to start, he just watched some of the students coming in, wondering if he'd know any of them. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he'd be separated from the group of friends he'd made so far. It also seemed like most people were sitting in groups already, and anyone on their own seemed to prefer sitting alone. Ash continued to be as social as possible, but by the time everyone was seated, it seemed as though people were either sitting alone, or already had groups of friends to sit with. _That's fine,_ Ash told himself, as Pikachu hopped into the empty seat next to him, _I've got my best friend right here._

Once everyone was seated, it appeared that it was time for the class to begin, as the man in the white lab coat approached his podium. "Good afternoon, class," he greeted, giving a small, awkward wave as he smiled towards the students in front of him. "I hope you are all enjoying your first day of classes. I'm sure it's fairly stressful, but hopefully the fact that you're all learning about Pokemon and how to be better trainers is enough motivation to keep pushing through." Ash nodded to himself, completely agreeing with those words. It was a new way of reaching his goal of becoming a Pokemon Master, but he was sure that this school would help him be a better trainer. "Well, without further ado, I think I should introduce myself," the man said, bringing Ash's attention back to the front of the class. "I am Yuzo Konishi, and I've been an assistant at Professor Rowan's lab in Sinnoh for many years, researching evolution. And, among that research, is the very topic that we will be learning about in this course, Levels and Experience."

A student near the front row then raised her hand, and Yuzo pointed to her, nodding to signal for her to ask her question. "Excuse me, sir, but I'm not sure what the point of this course really is. I know some researchers believe Pokemon can be categorized by levels, but I've seen plenty of battles that make me think otherwise. I'm just wondering why if you could further explain what we'll be learning about in this course so we can better understand that."

"An excellent question," Yuzo replied happily, stepping out from behind his podium and standing near the middle of his stage, closer to the front rows. "Pokemon levels are a complicated area of Pokemon research, and usually only come into play during simulations to predict the likelihood of a Pokemon's success. It's a good way to come up with strategies to win a battle if you are aware of a significant power gap. However, in real life, it is clear that the level, or power, of a Pokemon, is not necessarily a guaranteed sign of victory. An increase in power will often come out of a Pokemon gaining experience in battle, but you never know if that Pokemon is gaining bad habits while they battle. In simulation, that won't come into play." Yuzo paused here and looked around the class, seeing many confused faces looking back at him. Ash wasn't confused at all, though. In fact, he was already liking this class much more than he thought he would. Yuzo seemed to know what he was talking about. "See, the trainer and how they train their Pokemon is always the most important part in winning a battle."

Without even realizing it, Ash raised his hand, immediately getting Yuzo's attention. The former assistant of Professor Rowan nodded, smiling encouragingly at Ash. "So, would you say that you don't believe in the idea of Pokemon having levels?" Ash asked, looking down at Pikachu, and thinking that if Pokemon were guided by levels, Pikachu would have to be at a ridiculously high one by now.

"I think that they do, but I don't think they are guided by them as strongly as some researchers and simulations make it seem," Yuzo answered, nodding at Ash's question. "As I mentioned, battle experience will make a Pokemon grow and thus, their level will increase, which is why some Pokemon are able to evolve." He then pulled out three pokeballs from his pockets and tossed them out, revealing three brown bird Pokemon of three different sizes. Ash instantly recognized them as a Starly, Staravia and Staraptor. "Could someone please tell me about these Pokemon?" Yuzo asked the class.

Nobody raised their hand, so once again, Ash raised his, almost reflexively. He did know these Pokemon fairly well anyways. He'd trained his own. When Yuzo saw Ash was the only one volunteering to answer, he pointed to him and nodded, signalling for him to go on. "The smallest is a Starly. It's the first of the evolution line. Next is Staravia, who's a little faster and stronger. Finally, there's Staraptor, who is _very_ fast and _very_ strong, even against rock types if it knows a move like Close Combat like mine does." There was a bit of excited murmuring from a few groups of students when Ash mentioned his own Staraptor, as though they were quite impressed that he had one.

"Yes, that's quite right, Mr. Ketchum," Yuzo said, giving a thumbs up at the answer. "Well, mostly right, but definitely on the right track. In general, yes, the power level of these Pokemon would go up based on their evolution, but of course some Pokemon can be stronger if not evolved, such as your Pikachu, there, who could probably beat most Raichu that he went up against." He paused, walking over to his Starly and picking it up gently, before holding it up for the class to see. "What if I told you this Starly was stronger than this Staraptor?" he asked, pointing to the Staraptor behind him. Everyone in the class stared at him in shock for a moment, until he laughed. "It isn't, but believe it or not, it is possible. Starly can be stronger if it battles and gains more experience, essentially levelling up. Or, it could overcome its weaknesses by fighting with a talented trainer that can use its small size to its advantage, or force a more powerful Pokemon like Staraptor to make mistakes and underestimate its opponent."

With that, Yuzo recalled the three bird Pokemon to their pokeballs and Ash turned to Pikachu, who was actually watching the lecture with clear interest. "This class seems pretty good so far, don't you think, Pikachu?" Ash asked excitedly.

"Pika," Pikachu answered with a nod, looking over to his trainer and nodding.

Before Ash could say anything else, Yuzo had gone over to his desk at the side of the stage and was placing down the pokeballs for the three bird Pokemon, before picking up three other pokeballs and walking back to the middle of the stage. "Now, one of the most intriguing things about Pokemon levels, is how it relates to beginner trainers and the starter Pokemon they are given to use when beginning their journey. This will be the focus of the first few weeks of this course." He then opened up the three pokeballs that he had in his hands, releasing a Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle in front of him. "Does anyone know who these Pokemon are?"

Before Ash could raise his hand, a student a few seats ahead of him did so, and Yuzo signalled for him to answer. "Charmander, a fire type; Bulbasaur, a grass and poison type; and Squirtle, a water type. They're the starter Pokemon generally used in the Kanto region, although some trainers also receive them here."

"Yes, that's correct," Yuzo said, smiling at the answer. "Does anyone know why these Pokemon are good for beginning trainers? Or even why any of the typical starter Pokemon are selected for beginning trainers?" At this, he reached into his pocket, pulled out some kind of remote, and pointed it up at the projector, which lit up and then displayed an image on the screen at the front of the class. It showed the starter Pokemon for Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and even another region that Ash had never heard of, called the Alola region. For this one, he could see an owl-like Pokemon called Rowlet, a feline Pokemon called Litten, and a sea lion-like Pokemon called Popplio.

As Ash was looking at the unfamiliar Pokemon up on the screen, he could hear a student answering Yuzo's last question. "These starter Pokemon are specifically bred to be easy to control for younger trainers, but also capable of becoming much stronger if both they and their trainer work hard."

"Exactly," Yuzo said, clapping at the answer. "And this is why raising one of these starter Pokemon will be one of your projects throughout the semester. As advanced trainers, you will need to take what you learn from my class, and the other classes, and raise your Pokemon to be at a level where it is able to defeat Clembot in battle by the end of the semester."

 **Author's Note:**

Hmm...I wonder what Pokemon Ash will get assigned with for his Levels and Experience class. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that. With that Levels and Experience class, I was just trying to make it like the games world of Pokemon was very different from the anime or...fanfic world. Levels matter, but not as much I guess. I don't know...hopefully it made a smidgen of sense.

As for the other classes, well not too much to them I guess. A tiny little amour moment for you in the health class, so hopefully you liked that.

Next one won't be out until next week unfortunately. Lots of essays to write. I'm gonna be getting to write a lot more _very_ soon, though, so we can look forward to that. So bye for now and hopefully it won't be too long before the next one is up.


	11. Double Trouble

**Author's Note:**

Wow, so long since the last one, I know. But, good news. You can expect three chapters next week on whatever days they may come. My school stress is pretty much over for the semester, so we can focus on...another school. So yeah, here you go. Chapter 11.

 **Chapter 11: Double Trouble**

Clemont, Ash and Serena were all sitting at the back of the class as they listened to their teacher, a man Ash apparently knew quite well, Reggie, lecture about the kinds of facilities needed in order to be a Pokemon breeder. It had been quite a long lecture so far, and despite the fact that they'd all had a friendly conversation with Reggie before class, the three trainers were beginning to get restless. Clemont could see that Ash in particular, looked about ready to run out of the class screaming. He was probably only holding back so he wouldn't embarrass his friends, and because he wanted to support Reggie, his friend and now teacher.

The first day had gone fairly well for Clemont and his group of friends. While they'd all been pretty tired the night before, after a trip to the training facilities once their classes had finished, they'd all seemed to enjoy their first days. Ash had been pretty excited about his Levels and Experience class, a class that Clemont, Trevor and Tierno also had this semester, and he'd been particularly excited about the Pokemon they'd be receiving for the class. Clemont was looking forward to that as well, as were many others, but he was just hoping he'd get a Pokemon that got along with his others and wanted to be there.

The other classes that everyone had on the first day had seemed to be fairly successful as well. Dawn, Shauna and Tierno had expressed that the Breeding class was a bit slow at first, as Clemont, Ash and Serena were finding now, but that Reggie seemed to know his stuff and that the class looked promising. Serena and Shauna had also been quite excited about their Grooming class, which was apparently taught by another Pokemon Breeder. From what they had said, it wasn't all about making a Pokemon flashy, but bringing out their "inner beauty" and "inner strength". Ash had mentioned that he'd met the teacher for that class as well, Suzie Yuki, and that her grooming techniques were useful for battling as well, and that it would definitely come in handy for Performances and Contests.

While the first day had gone fairly well, Clemont could already feel the exhaustion coming for them all. Waking up, preparing for classes and running around the campus was a unique and interesting experience on day one, but he wondered what that was going to be like when they had assignments coming at them from all their classes. He was just hoping that they'd get to do more activities involving Pokemon, rather than lectures. He was happy to learn from lectures, which was why he was here, but much like the somewhat bored Ash and Serena next to him, he was already restless and ready to start training.

"And I think that wraps things up for this class," Reggie suddenly said snapping Clemont back to attention. He was a little surprised with himself. He didn't think his mind would wander off like that. "I'll see you all on Thursday. And don't worry, it'll be a bit more interesting than learning about breeding facilities."

As all the students started filing out of the class, and Clemont and his friends were putting their things away, Reggie approached, an amused look on his face. "Well, you three looked a little...unenthusiastic with that lecture. Hopefully you aren't too bored with this class already?"

"I think we're just a bit tired. That first day was fun, but a lot seems to be going on," Serena told him, glancing down and looking a little apologetic. "Sorry if it looked like I wasn't interested. I _was_ paying attention."

"Yeah, so was I," Ash assured everyone. "Um...there's that egg machine you were talking about. The inklebater or something like that."

Reggie laughed, looking unsurprised with Ash's comment. "The incubator," he quickly corrected. "And don't worry, I know you three will be great students. At least, I know Ash will, and if you two," he nodded to Serena and then Clemont, "are his friends, I'm just as confident about you as well."

"Why are you so confident about _me_?" Ash asked, looking perplexed. "I made Nurse Joy mad within a minute of our Pokemon Health class. I think I ruined some of the things in my first aid kit, too. She's probably not going to be too happy tomorrow."

"You'll be fine. You all will be," Reggie said confidently, turning around as he began to head back to his desk at the front of the class. "You're all passionate about Pokemon and _that's_ what will make you successful at a school like this." When he reached his desk and sat down, he looked back up at Clemont and his friends. "Pay more attention in the next few classes, though. We've got an interesting assignment coming up." He then narrowed his eyes in amusement and smirked. "Now you guys should get going. Study up for that test on Thursday."

As Clemont led the way out of the class, he could hear Ash asking Serena in a slightly panicked voice about the obviously non-existent test. "I didn't hear him say anything about a test. What test? I don't know how to write a test."

"It's fine, Ash, he was joking," Serena told him quickly, as the three came to a stop out in the lobby of the Shinx Building. "At least I think he was. Besides, you know that stuff pretty well, don't you? You seem to know everything about Pokemon."

"Uh...there are some things that confuse me," Ash admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. He exchanged a glance with an amused looking Pikachu, before looking out the window of the building. "So what do you guys wanna do? I'd like to get some training in before our next class, Clemont. What do you think?"

"Sure, I'm up for that," Clemont agreed, happy, but not at all surprised, that Ash was as restless to get in some training as he was. He then looked at Serena. "How about you, Serena? What are you gonna do?"

"Not really sure," she said with a shrug. "I guess I'll just head back to the dorm room and wait for Shauna. Maybe we can practice for our Fashion class later on."

"Huh?" Ash looked kind of confused by this and stared blankly at Serena. "Why not come with us? I'd like to see one of your performance routines."

Clemont nodded, looking at Serena as he was about to echo Ash's request. Serena was a little quicker in responding, though, nodding and smiling at the offer. "Sure, I guess it would be good to practice that as well."

"Great, then let's go. I want to get to training as soon as possible. Pikachu and Greninja need some battling practice. I think we're all going crazy without it." Ash quickly took Serena and Clemont each by the arm and pulled them along behind him. "Let's not waste any time!" he exclaimed, glancing back and seeing them struggling to keep up.

It didn't take too long to get to the training facilities, as Ash had managed to get Clemont and Serena to go at a fairly good pace. It was a mini miracle for Clemont, actually, as he was rarely able to walk very fast. He supposed he was excited about training as well, so that motivated him to move quickly. That, and Ash pulling him and Serena along. Neither of them seemed to mind, though. Serena seemed quite happy, actually.

When they made it there, they quickly headed in and Ash turned towards a collection of phones set up at the side of the lobby. "Hey, maybe I should call Professor Oak and I can get a couple of my other Pokemon in for a training session."

"Oh, I'd love to see some of your other Pokemon!" Serena told him excitedly, eyes shining. "Yeah, call Professor Oak."

"I'd like to see more of your Pokemon as well," Clemont chimed in, interested to see just what Ash had, besides those he had used during the Kalos League.

"All right then, I'll give Professor Oak a quick call," Ash said, leading the way over to the phones. As he sat down in front of one of the phones, he looked up at Pikachu on his shoulder. "I wonder who we should call over. Maybe some of the Kanto Pokemon. It's been a while since any of them have had a proper chance to battle."

As Ash dialled the number for Professor Oak, Clemont and Serena waited behind him, tensed up with excitement. Not only were they getting to see some of Ash's old Pokemon, but they'd also get to meet the famous Professor Oak. Finally, when the phone finished ringing, a man's voice came out of the speaker. "Hello, this is Professor Oak's research lab."

"Hi Professor, it's Ash!" Ash exclaimed happily, his greeting getting a quick response as the monitor immediately lit up and the face of Professor Oak appeared.

"Oh, it's good to hear from you, Ash!" Oak said, smiling and giving a little wave. "All settled into the university, I hope. Are classes going well?"

Ash nodded and gave a thumbs up. "Yeah, it's going great so far. Pikachu did really well in our screening battle, the classes are awesome and Dawn and I have already made a bunch of great friends." He then turned around and gestured to Clemont and Serena. "This is Clemont," he said first, pointing to the inventor. "He's the Lumiose City Gym Leader and an inventor. Oh, and my roommate as well."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Clemont," Professor Oak said with a nod to the inventor. "Professor Sycamore actually told me about you when I was speaking with him about the university. You've done some _very_ impressive work. You might make a quality Pokemon Researcher one day."

Clemont's eyes widened at the praise from the world renowned Pokemon Researcher. "Wow, thank you so much, Professor Oak," he said, bowing a little. "I didn't think Professor Sycamore would mention my work, but I'm glad you think it's good."

"Marvellous is the word that Augustine used, I believe," Oak said, looking amused. He then glanced to Clemont's right, where Serena was standing and waiting patiently, actually looking a little nervous. "And who might this young lady be, Ash?" He looked at Serena strangely, almost as though he was recognizing her from somewhere.

"This is Serena," Ash answered, smiling at the Performer. "She's awesome. She nearly won the Masterclass Showcase to become Kalos Queen. I don't know too much about that stuff, but she's going to show us a performance today, actually."

"Ah, very impressive," Oak agreed, nodding. "Well it's nice to meet you as well, Serena. I've heard that Performances are quite difficult. They may be very similar to the Appeals round in Contests, but they still provide their own unique challenges. I'd very much like to see a Performance one day, myself."

"Oh yeah, I'd like to go back to Pallet Town one day," Serena told him happily.

"What do you mean _back_ to Pallet Town?" Ash asked, giving Serena a quizzical look. "You've been there before?"

Serena pursed her lips, looking a little uneasy. "Um, well yeah, I have. It was a long time ago, but I really enjoyed it. I met some really nice people. One of them was especially nice. He helped me out when I was having a rough time."

"Sounds like a nice guy," Ash said, smiling. "Hopefully you can come back and meet him again."

"Yeah..." Serena answered quietly, before turning her attention back to Professor Oak. Clemont had the feeling that she was getting kind of nervous about something. "So, Professor Oak, how are Ash's Pokemon doing? We were hoping to meet a couple of them."

* * *

"All right, Buneary, use Ice Beam! Quilava, use the ice to pick up speed and then hit Raichu with Flame Wheel!" Dawn narrowed her eyes as she made the call, watching her opponent's Pokemon closely. This battle had been tougher than she'd thought it would be.

"Bun-buneary!" Buneary shouted, before jumping up high and aiming down towards the stage in front of her. The icy energy extended out and hit the stage with full force, immediately creating a sheet of smooth ice as the attack extended forth towards the Raichu and Politoed up ahead. Quilava quickly leaped forward, sliding rapidly along the ice, before flames fired out of its back, engulfing it completely. Quilava then spun forward, becoming just what the attack name would suggest, a flaming wheel.

"Raichu, dance to the left!" Tierno shouted, doing his own little pirouette as Raichu spun away from the incoming attack. "Politoed, block with Protect and then use Bubble Beam!"

"Poli!" Politoed shouted, now facing down the incoming Flame Wheel on its own. It quickly stopped dancing and clapping and thrust its arms forward, a glowing turquoise barrier shooting up in front of it. Quilava was stopped immediately, bouncing off painfully from the barrier and slipping in the melted ice behind it. Politoed then inhaled deeply, before unleashing a stream of powerful bubbles that slammed hard into the Volcano Pokemon at full force. Dawn winced as Quilava was carried through the air by the attack and then landed hard on the ground in front of her.

"Quilava, are you okay?" Dawn asked her Pokemon in concern.

The Volcano Pokemon struggled to its feet, but managed to turn its head and look at its trainer with confidence. "Lava," it said firmly.

"Still okay to move and groove, Dawn?" Tienro called out, as Quilava winced and turned around, ready to continue the battle. Dawn narrowed her eyes, looking at Tierno's two Pokemon. They weren't exactly in the greatest shape. Buneary had hit Raichu with an Ice Beam which has slowed it down quite a bit, and Politoed was panting after being hit be a powerful Flamethrower from Quilava earlier on. Tierno was good, but Dawn had used the Contest setting to her advantage. Tierno must have noticed Dawn's irritation, because he smiled a little nervously, and held up two pokeballs, returning his two Pokemon. "I guess you get the win."

"We'll call it a draw," Dawn said, also returning her two Pokemon.

Dawn had run into Tierno at the training facilities as she had been heading over to practice a bit before her next class. He'd been watching a few other coordinators training and had asked if Dawn could let him try it out. And Dawn had to admit, he was a lot better than most battlers were when they tried coordinating. His dancing and his Pokemon's quick movements made him tough to handle.

The two of them were left the theatre that they were battling in, and started heading out towards the more standard battlefields to see if there were any other Contest battles going on. Just as they were entering the area with the battlefields, Dawn heard her name being called from behind, and turned to see a familiar trio heading towards them.

"Hey Dawn! Tierno!" Ash called, waving to them, Serena and Clemont at his sides. "You guys doing some training, too?" he asked, fiddling with his belt, which Dawn now noticed had four pokeballs instead of two.

"Yeah, Dawn is helping me learn about coordinating," Tierno explained, gesturing for them to follow as they entered the battlefield area. "I think I did all right. I was movin' and groovin' pretty well, wasn't I, Dawn?"

"Yeah, you'll be competing in Grand Festivals in no time," Dawn told him encouragingly, as the five of them stopped in front of the row of battlefields. There were a few battles going on, including one on a rock field right in front of them, where a Leafeon was aggressively beating back a Hitmonchan with Razor Leaf.

"Really?" Tierno asked hopefully, looking quite excited about the compliment. "I think that'd be kind of cool. I bet Blastoise and the others would like that. Our rhythm would really shine in contests and we still get to battle."

"I'd like to see how your battling looks, Tierno," Ash suddenly spoke up. "We never had a chance to battle in the Kalos League, so how about we have a match now? We can see if your dancing can beat my...everything else."

"How about a double battle?" Everyone stopped for a moment at the unexpected suggestion that had come from Serena, who was now glancing down, looking kind of embarrassed. "Maybe you and I can battle against Dawn and Tierno?" she added, looking back up at Ash. I'd kind of like to try out the Contest battle thing as well and maybe this can help."

"That sounds like a good idea," Clemont chimed in, smiling. "I can referee the match. What do you three think?" he asked, looking at Ash, Dawn and Tierno.

Ash nodded immediately, plucking a pokeball from his belt. He looked more than ready, smiling confidently at Dawn and her apparent teammate. "Awesome idea, Serena. Dawn and Tierno are pretty tough, so I think we'd make a great team against them."

"All right, I'm in," Dawn said, smiling at Tierno. "Wanna give it a go, Tierno?" The dancing enthusiast nodded and did a little pirouette, which she assumed was a yes. "All right, what kind of field would be good? There's a grass field over there that's open," she suggested, pointing over to a field next to the rock one where the Leafeon and Hitmonchan were battling.

The group nodded and immediately started heading over there. As they walked, Tierno quickly pulled out a pokeball and looked at Dawn. "I'm gonna go with Blastoise for this one. Who do you think you'll use?"

"I guess I won't use Piplup, in case Ash goes with Pikachu," Dawn muttered, thinking about how embarrassing it would be if Pikachu took down both her and Tierno's Pokemon with one shot. She thought for a moment about who would work best with a Blastoise and settled on electricity. "I think I'll use Pachirisu."

"Sounds good," Tierno answered, nodding confidently.

When they reached their selected field, Dawn and Tierno made their way over to the far side of the field, standing on either side, while Ash and Serena stood on the other side, Ash on Dawn's left and Serena straight ahead. Clemont made his way over to the sidelines, standing in the middle, before raising his hand up.

"This will be a two versus two double battle between Ash and Serena against Dawn and Tierno. The winner will be decided when both Pokemon on one side are unable to battle. Do you agree?" Clemont called out, looking to the far side first. Ash and Serena nodded, before Clemont turned to the other side, getting a thumbs up from Dawn and Tierno. "Then let the match begin!"

"Blastoise, come on out!" Tierno shouted, spinning around as he tossed his pokeball forward. With a flash of light, his large, blue tortoise-like Pokemon emerged, doing a little dance in sync with his trainer, before stopping and watching the trainers ahead of him. Dawn was quick to call out her Pachirisu as well, and then waited to see what Ash and Serena were going to pick.

"All right, well since this is a battle, I guess Pancham should be up for this," Serena said, seemingly talking to herself. "Go Pancham!" she shouted, as her panda-like Pokemon emerged, folding his arms as he stood and glared ahead at Pachirisu and Blastoise.

Ash nodded, as though approving the choice of Pancham. Dawn could see Pikachu preparing to leap off of his shoulder, but Ash then pulled a pokeball from his belt and threw it forward, immediately seeming to tick off the electric mouse, however he seemed to decide to ignore it as he watched the pokeball go forth. "Tauros, I choose you!" The pokeball spun forward, hit the ground, and then with a flash of light, a large, brown bull-like Pokemon emerged, roaring excitedly, before turning around and charging at Ash. "No! Tauros, wait!"

It was too late for Ash's panicked yell, though. Within a second, Tauros had slammed into his trainer and had carried him off around the field, running excitedly while Ash seemed to be laughing. Dawn exchanged both a concerned and amused look with Serena, as both of them clearly couldn't tell what they should have been feeling. Finally, Tauros seemed to have calmed down from his greeting, and he and Ash returned to their side of the field, standing next to Serena and Pancham.

"Sorry about that," Ash laughed, rubbing his neck in embarrassment, or possibly pain. "Tauros, well this one and all the others that I have, usually get pretty excited when they see me. I guess that wasn't as bad as having thirty of them do it."

Dawn laughed, remembering having seen that scene on one of her first days in Pallet Town, when the herd of thirty had charged after Ash. She remembered this one in particular, who seemed to be the leader of the herd, as it was slightly larger and more intimidating, despite possibly being the most affectionate towards Ash.

"All right..." Clemont muttered, when everyone seemed ready to get the battle going again. "Let the battle begin...again."

With that, Dawn and Tierno were quick to act, knowing they had to move quick before Ash could take control of the match. Neither of them had seen Tauros in battle action before, so they needed to control the pace of the battle. "Pachirisu, use Super Fang on Tauros!" Dawn shouted, pointing ahead with the order.

Tierno had set his sights on Tauros as well, apparently, spinning around with a dance move in sync with Blastoise and then punching the air as he made his order. "Hydro Cannon, Blastoise!"

"Not so fast, guys!" Ash shouted confidently, smirking as he watched Pachirisu bolt forward, its fang extending out and glowing, along with Blastoise aiming its cannons and preparing to fire out the two powerful jets of water. "Tauros, use Protect!" The Wild Bull Pokemon cried out and then dug his hooves into the ground, before aiming his horns up, erecting a large, turquoise barrier up in front of himself.

"Chi-pa!" Pachirisu shouted out in surprise as it bounced off the barrier and spun back, just as Blastoise's attack struck uselessly off as well.

"Now, Tauros hit Pachirisu with Horn Attack!" Ash quickly ordered, pointing towards the defenceless squirrel-like Pokemon. He then quickly looked over to Serena, who seemed to have been caught watching. "You take care of Blastoise," he said quickly, getting a nod in response.

"Pancham, use Dark Pulse on Blastoise!" Serena yelled, sounding a little nervous with her call, although Pancham moved quite quickly, leaping over the charging Tauros and then firing off a swirling jet of purple and black energy towards a surprised Blastoise.

Each attack struck at the same time, with Pachirisu flying back and shouting in pain from the hit by Tauros, and Blastoise shaking its head in discomfort, dazed by the Dark Pulse attack. Dawn clenched her fists as she watched Pachirisu struggle to its feet. Ash had clearly had that counter planned right from the start, knowing that Dawn and Tierno would target him first. They'd fallen for such an obvious trick. If one of them had gone after Pancham, they might have been able to catch Serena while she was watching. _That's who we need to focus on,_ Dawn realized. _Then we can take care of Ash._

"Tierno," Dawn said quickly, glancing to her left quickly and seeing Tierno, watching the opposing trainers cautiously. He looked over to her and looked a little surprised by the smile she had on her face. "I know how we can win this. Keep movin' and groovin' and then we can make our move!"

* * *

Ash narrowed his eyes when he heard Dawn say that. He had no idea what the Coordinator could be planning, but he was aware that she was a fairly skilled battler. Tauros and Blastoise were the strongest Pokemon on the field, but Ash knew that Dawn and Pachirisu probably had the key to their team's strategy. He decided that she would have to be his focus, while Serena continued to deal with Tierno.

"Tauros, use Horn Attack again! Straight at Pachirisu!" Ash yelled, pumping his fist with the order. As Tauros roared and took off again, Ash quickly looked over to Serena and nodded, signalling for her to take action as well.

"Pancham, use Stone Edge on Blastoise!" she ordered clenching her fists in front of her as she made the command. Ash couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the sight. This kind of battling was clearly new to her, but he was glad to help her out.

"Cham-pancham!" Pancham shouted, slamming his little fist into the ground, just as Tauros closed in on Pachirisu.

"Pachirisu, take the hit. I know you can handle it!" Dawn shouted, shocking not only Ash and Serena, but Tierno as well. The only one who didn't seem bothered by the order, was Pachirisu, who gritted its teeth, and then leaped forward to meet Tauros, shouting in pain as he struck, but seemingly managing to hold on and take hold of Tauros' horns.

Ash gritted his teeth, but decided to quickly glance over and see what was happening with Pancham's Stone Edge. He could see the massive blue stones shooting up in a straight line towards a dancing Blastoise. Then, just as they were about to reach the Shellfish Pokemon, Tierno did a little spin, in perfect sync with it, and then shouted for a Rapid Spin.

"Blastoise!" Blastoise shouted, as it withdrew into its shell and launched itself forward. It met the final blue stone in Pancham's line, head on, smashing it to pieces and then continuing forward. The stones continued to break apart as Blastoise shot forward, before eventually breaking through the stone in front of Pancham, and then slamming hard into the Playful Pokemon.

"Chaaam!" Pancham shouted in pain, flying back and landing hard on the ground between Ash and Serena.

Ash gritted his teeth and looked at Pancham in concern, before shooting up his head as he heard Dawn call out an order. "Pachirisu, use Sweet Kiss!"

"Tauros, shake it off!" Ash shouted, hating that he'd let himself get distracted. He watched Tauros rapidly shaking his head, but Pachirisu held tight, its eyes aiming for its target, which seemed to be right between Tauros' horns. Suddenly, it lunged forward, puckering up its lips and then it kissed Tauros in the centre of the head.

Immediately, Tauros stopped moving, looking slightly dazed, with his eyes wide and staring blankly ahead. Pachirisu, however, must have known that he was about to start moving again, because it quickly leaped off and stood ready, right in front of Dawn. Then, suddenly, Tauros began crying out in distress, shaking its head and stamping its feet, before charging around blindly. He was completely confused by the Sweet Kiss and had no idea what he was doing. Ash could only watch in distress as his Pokemon ran around, completely unaware of its surroundings.

"Now Tierno, let's hit Pancham with everything we've got!" Dawn shouted to her teammate. "Pachirisu, use Spark on Pancham!"

"Blastoise, aim a Hydro Cannon for as soon as its done!" Tierno added, dancing with clear confidence.

Ash narrowed his eyes and glanced at Serena, noticing she was looking towards Tauros with panic in her eyes. "Don't worry about Tauros, right now, Serena," Ash told her. "Worry about Pancham!"

"Uh...right," Serena said nervously, before looking at Pancham, who was still wincing from Blastoise's attack. "Pancham, counter Pachirisu with Arm Thrust!"

"Cham-pancham-pan!" Pancham answered, running forward as Pachirisu approached, engulfed in light blue electricity. His fist glowed white, and then he thrust it forward as the squirrel-like Pokemon reached him. There was a mini explosion as the two attacks made contact, and then Pancham and Pachirisu were blown back by the force of the impact, each sliding across the grass, leaving smokey skid marks in the ground.

Ash then glanced up towards Tauros, seeing his Wild Bull Pokemon still running around in circles, completely confused. "Come on, Tauros! Snap out of it!" Ash yelled, putting all the emotion he could into his call, hoping it would get through to his Pokemon.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as well, attempting to help get through to Tauros.

It didn't matter, though, as Tauros continued to roar and run in circles. Tierno's Blastoise, however, was still aware of the battle in front of it, and he spun in unison with his trainer, before firing off the Hydro Cannon that was ordered moments earlier. "Toise!" it shouted loudly, aiming the cannons low and firing them off towards Pancham.

"Dodge it, Pancham!" Serena shouted worriedly, sweeping her hand aside as she called out to her Pokemon. Pancham did look like he was about to dodge it, but then, just as he was about to jump aside, he twitched in pain, and then fell to both knees as sparks began shooting up all around his body, paralysis taking hold of him. "Pancham, no!" Serena shouted in concern, just as the massive jets of water hit, striking Pancham hard and sending him flying back, skidding along the ground, before landing hard behind Serena and Ash.

The call was easy for Clemont to make as he raised his arm towards Dawn and Tierno. "Pancham is unable to battle," he announced, as Ash and Serena looked towards the unmoving Pokemon. "It is now Pachirisu and Blastoise against Tauros."

"I totally messed up," Ash heard Serena whisper to herself, as she recalled Pancham to his pokeball. "I'm sorry, Pancham. And Ash," she finished, glancing up towards him.

"It's all right, Serena," Ash said seriously. "I got distracted, but it's not over yet. Tauros can still fight and we can still come back." He then looked straight ahead to the still confused Tauros, took a deep breath, and called out again. "Tauros! You can do this. Snap out of it! Don't give up!"

It was immediately apparent to all of them that Tauros was back to normal, as he stopped thrashing about, and stopped immediately, locking eyes with Ash. His eyes immediately went to the disappointed Serena, and he looked down sadly, and Ash could tell that his Pokemon was blaming himself for Pancham getting beaten.

"Don't worry, Tauros, we can still come back," Ash shouted confidently.

"I don't think so," Dawn said, looking over to Tierno and nodding. "We have full control now and there's no way we're letting you beat us when we've got the advantage."

"Yeah!" Tierno agreed, spinning around again as he danced along with Blastoise. "We've got the rhythm going now, Ash. Tauros doesn't stand a chance. Blastoise, use Rain Dance!"

"BlaaaSTOISE!" Blastoise shouted, as it stopped dancing and raised up its arms. Immediately, a small, dark cloud appeared above its head, and then started shooting upwards, expanding. Suddenly it was covering up the whole field, and within a few seconds, a light rain was falling. Ash narrowed his eyes, looking up at the rain cloud. Now Blastoise's water attacks would be powered up. He needed to be careful.

Dawn was apparently ready to target Tauros immediately, and she glanced at Tierno, who nodded, almost like he was agreeing to an unspoken plan. "Blastoise, Rapid Spin!" he shouted, twirling around as Blastoise withdrew into its shell. It then started spinning quickly, but instead of heading towards Tauros, it remained near Pachirisu.

Ash figured out why, a moment later. "Pachirisu, full speed and jump on Blastoise's shell!" Dawn ordered, pointing confidently towards Blastoise.

"Chi-pa!" Pachirisu squeaked out, before running forward and leaping up towards the spinning Blastoise. Ash watched in shock as the squirrel-like Pokemon managed to land and then hold on as Blastoise temporarily slowed down, before speeding back up again.

"Now, spin faster and build up speed for Pachirisu!" Tierno ordered, spinning like a top himself as he called the command out.

"And then hit Tauros with a high speed Spark attack!" Dawn shouted quickly.

Ash narrowed his eyes as he watched Blastoise increase its speed. He could see Tauros watching as well, bracing for the incoming attack. There was a light blue glow on top of the spinning Blastoise as it spun, showing Pachirisu's attack was about ready to launch. Ash instantly knew what to do, even though he expected that it was what Dawn and Tierno were waiting for. However, with Pancham already out of the fight, he had to go with the flow of the match. "Tauros, use Protect!"

He'd timed it just right, as Pachirisu was launched off of Blastoise at just that moment, heading straight for Tauros, looking like a light blue rocket in its electric attack. Tauros put of the turquoise barrier immediately and just as it went up, Pachirisu slammed into it with full force, shooting out a shock wave of energy with shook the rain clouds above the field and even startled a few of the trainers battling on other fields.

As Ash had expected, though, Dawn and Tierno had seemed to expect this defensive manoeuvre, and as Pachirisu slid along the slippery grass, it quickly stood up straight, ready for Dawn's quick order, which Ash would have to meet head on, with Protect now going down. "Pachirisu, use Super Fang!" she shouted confidently.

"Counter that with Take Down!" Ash countered, punching the air as he watched Tauros stamp his feet, before charging ahead towards Pachirisu.

Tauros cried out loudly as he ran towards Pachirisu, head bowed low as he prepared to meet his opponent head on. Pachirisu wasn't intimidated, though, its extended fang pointing straight towards the Wild Bull Pokemon it was running towards.

However, just before the two Pokemon could meet, Ash noticed a brown shape spin around behind Tauros, effectively closing him off from any kind of escape. The Wild Bull Pokemon looked slightly startled by the speed Blastoise had managed to move at, and Ash noticed that it must have been because the grass was slippery from the rainfall.

The distraction proved costly for Tauros, as Pachirisu was able to leap up and land right on his back, avoiding any kind of counter from Take Down. It then lifted its head up high, before bringing its extended fang down onto Tauros in the middle of his back. "Chiii-PA!" it screeched as it attacked and then leaped off.

Tauros roared in pain, standing up on its two back legs after the strike had landed. That wasn't it, though, as immediately, Blastoise continued its attack from behind, and struck Tauros hard in the side, sending the Wild Bull Pokemon flying through the air, before it landed hard and slid along the ground.

"Now, let's combine our attacks!" Dawn shouted confidently. "Pachirisu, run in front of Blastoise and use Spark!"

"And Blastoise, launch Pachirisu forward with Hydro Cannon!" Tierno added, nodding in agreement with the plan that Dawn had apparently come up with.

"Sparking Hydro Cannon!" the two of them yelled in unison.

Ash could only watch in stunned silence as Tauros struggled to stand while his opponents prepared their attacks, Pachirisu running forward, engulfed in its light blue electricity. The Wild Bull Pokemon slipped in the wet grass a couple of times, and then turned and looked on with wide eyes as Blastoise's Hydro Cannon seemingly picked up Pachirisu and carried it forward at double the speed. Before Ash could even blink, the electrified water attack was slamming into his Pokemon, causing it to cry out in pain one more time, before the smoke eventually cleared from the attack, and he went quiet.

It seemed that all four trainers, along with the refereeing Clemont, seemed shocked by the result of the battle. However, it was clear enough who the winners were, and Clemont made the call. "Tauros is unable to battle," he announced, waving an arm towards Dawn and Tierno. "With that, both Serena's and Ash's Pokemon are unable to battle, while both Dawn's and Tierno's are still able to continue. This means, the battle goes to the team of Dawn and Tierno, along with Pachirisu and Blastoise!"

* * *

Serena sat next to Dawn and Shauna in their small Fashion class in the Luxio Building. It was set up with desks circling around the centre of the classroom, which had a demonstration table where a Furfrou and Lopunny were sitting, while the teacher, a maroon-haired woman in a blue dress named Paris Hudson, who was from Sinnoh according to Dawn, was explaining the proper ways to put on accessories such as ribbons, so as not to create a problem with a Pokemon's movement or vision. It was useful enough information that most of the class seemed to be using, but Serena and her two friends were already obviously aware of it, so they were essentially just going through the motions, while Dawn explained the earlier battle to Shauna.

"Tierno and I worked really well together, and I think that just made all the difference," Dawn explained, sounding quite pleased with how she and Tierno had managed to pull off the victory. "I don't think it was that we were better trainers. Obviously not, because, you know, Ash is Ash, but our plan just made all the difference."

Shauna, who was sitting in the middle, seemed a little uneasy with where this was going, and glanced at Serena, looking worried that her friend might be angry. Serena just shrugged, and turned her attention gaze the lecture at the centre of the class. She wasn't mad at Dawn for being excited about her victory. It was definitely something she could be proud about, considering that Ash was such a successful trainer and all. What she was mad about, was how the whole battle had seemed like a complete failure.

Serena had proposed the idea of a tag battle, so that she and Ash could work together and have some fun. She'd done a lousy job of that right from the start, with getting distracted and only watching the battle at first. Sure, she'd managed to land a hit on Blastoise, but then Pancham had been wiped out completely once Tauros was confused.

She had to admit, Ash hadn't seemed at his best, either, as he'd seemed to forget about the teamwork involved with a tag team battle. However, she couldn't exactly blame him for that, when she was distracted for most of the battle while she was involved, and Ash had tried to get her to pay attention a couple of times. Overall, it had just been a pretty bad battle, and she wished she had never suggested it. Ash could have just battled Tierno and won, and neither of them would have been embarrassed like they were. _And so many people saw us lose, too_ , Serena thought to herself, thinking of the students that had gathered around as they'd departed the battlefield, staring in shock at the defeated Ash.

"Ms. Yvonne, could you please demonstrate the proper way to tie a ribbon?" a woman's voice suddenly asked. Serena jumped at the question and she glanced up to see Paris looking at her, gesturing to the pokeball that Serena had in front of her on her desk.

"Oh, right," Serena muttered, picking up the pokeball and releasing Sylveon onto her desk and then picking up a couple of ribbons that had been handed around before class had started. Serena just had to go on instinct as she quickly began tying the ribbons to Sylveon's neck and ears. It wasn't her best work, but she just hoped it was good enough for her distraction to not be noticed.

"Not bad," Paris said smiling as she approached the desk and checked on the ribbons, fiddling with the one around Sylveon's neck. "This one is a little tight, but a little more practice and you should be fine." Serena nodded at that, and then Paris began making her way around the class, beginning with Shauna and Dawn, and then continuing, testing how they'd all understood the lecture.

"Are you all right, Serena?" Shauna asked, looking at her friend in concern. "You seem really out of it, today? You're really distracted by something."

Dawn leaned forward on her desk and looked past Shauna at Serena. "Don't feel bad about the battle, Serena. It's just one battle. Tierno and I probably just worked better together since his dancing works with a Coordinator battling style. You're performing is just really different from Ash's style. I think even experienced battlers would have a tough time in a tag battle with Ash. It's hard to keep up with him."

"I know," Serena muttered, looking down at her hands as she folded them in front of herself on her desk. "I just feel like it was dumb of me to ask for that tag battle. It was a waste of time and it just embarrassed both of us. You and Tierno were clearly way better."

"Don't say that!" Dawn said, sounding a little irritated as she spoke. "Just ask Ash. I'm sure he'll tell you he had a blast and that he'll want to have a rematch at some point. That's exactly what he said to his friend Gary after he passed out in one of their battles. Ash is...interesting in that way."

"Yeah..." Serena felt a small smile come to her face, and felt one of Sylveon's ribbon-like feelers stroke her hand. She exchanged a glance with her fairy type, and then turned her attention to Dawn and Shauna. "I guess that's his 'never give up until it's over' thing. Even after all this time."

Shauna looked completely perplexed by that comment, and looked at Dawn, who also seemed a little confused, but nodded as though understanding. "He doesn't seem to like giving up, that's for sure," she said laughing. "He seemed pretty down after his Kalos League loss, but I think he's started to get over it by now. I don't think a little practice battle will affect him too much. And it shouldn't affect you too much, either."

"Yeah, you're right," Serena admitted, shaking her head a bit as she thought of her moodiness. _It was just a small battle. And we can have a rematch at some point. I'll make sure I'm better for that one. Ash and I will win it for sure._

"Wait wait wait!" Shaun suddenly muttered, holding her hands up to the two girls on either side of her. "Hold on. Serena, what did you mean when you said, 'even after all this time'? You've known Ash for a few days and you only saw him battling at the Kalos League."

"Um, well I guess it just seems like a long time since the Kalos League. And, it just seemed like Ash didn't give up during it," Serena lied, not wanting to explain her history that only she seemed to remember. Now that she thought of it, Professor Oak hadn't remembered either, so it wasn't like it was strange that Ash hadn't remembered. Unless having a bad memory was a Pallet Town thing.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Shauna answered, nodding a little. She then smirked and glanced at Dawn, an amused look in her eyes. "Serena was _very_ interested in how Ash was doing during the Kalos League."

Dawn's eyes went to Serena, who was now becoming quite red in the face, and it looked like she tried to hold it back, but amusement came to her eyes as well. "Well Tierno and Trevor are definitely not your type, Serena, so I don't blame you for that. Ash is kind of...dense, but he's definitely a nice guy. Not bad looking, either, don't you think, Shauna?"

"Yeah, not bad," Shauna said, giggling. "He needs to comb his hair once in a while, though. And some table manners would be good, too. I'm not letting him date you until he figures out the important things, Serena."

"Sylveon, I don't care if I get kicked out of this school," Serena said darkly, looking at her Pokemon, who was actually looking a little amused up until Serena turned to her. "I want you to use Swift if they say anything else."

"All right, relax, Serena," Dawn muttered, exchanging one last amused look with Shauna before turning her attention to her Buneary and fiddling with one of the ribbons on the rabbit-like Pokemon's ears. "So, back to battling. You two are trying out for the dual Coordinator/Performer team right?"

Shauna nodded, carefully adjusting a ribbon on her Flabebe. "It should be really fun. I don't think Serena and I will be swapping in for the battling, but the Performance part should be good enough for us."

"Yeah, I think I've shown that battling isn't my thing," Serena said jokingly, although she knew it was true, given her performance earlier. Even if she got better, she'd have a tough time competing with experienced battlers at other schools. Obviously Dawn and Tierno were quality and experienced trainers, but Serena had been totally outclassed by them.

"I think you should give it a try at some point if...no _when_ , you make the team," Dawn argued, looking seriously at the two Performers. "Battling can't be my only focus, but it's a good way of bonding with your Pokemon and improving your skills at everything else as well. Why do you think Ash and Pikachu are so inseparable? Those two have battled together since Ash was ten years old. Piplup and I started becoming best friends when we started getting some battling experience. It's useful, trust me."

Serena nodded, thinking back to the time when she'd run into Aria, disguised as Ariana at the time. The Kalos Queen had actually helped Serena out a lot that day, by helping her understand her Pokemon better through a battle, and even helping Fennekin evolve into Braixen. She supposed Dawn did have a point when it came to that.

"I guess that's why we all had to battle for the screening tests," Shauna pointed out, looking up thoughtfully. "We really had to work well with our Pokemon in order to win those battles and get into the classes we wanted."

"Yeah, and we all pulled through. Some of us had battling skills we didn't even know we could use," Dawn added.

Serena supposed that was true, as she and Braixen had truly needed to work together in order to win that battle against Clembot. It really was kind of a test on the bonds all the trainers had with their Pokemon. Serena had obviously heard about Professor Sycamore's interest in Mega Evolution, and knew that a deep bond was required for it to work, and she wondered if that had guided Sycamore's interest in developing this school.

A few minutes later, the class was finally wrapping up, and students began filing out of the class. Serena purposely went slow, and told Dawn and Shauna to go on ahead of her. When she finally stepped out of the classroom, she could see her friends had gone already, which she was fine with, as she just wanted to walk alone for a bit.

Dawn was probably right that Serena was being too hard on herself about how their battle had gone, but she still felt kind of lousy about it. She would get over it, but Serena wanted to make sure that she was definitely much better the next time she had to battle. She didn't want to do it, because she was embarrassed, but because she wanted to be better for her Pokemon. How could she expect Pancham to trust her in a Performance if she let him down that easily in a battle? How could she expect any of her Pokemon to do so? Serena knew she had to be better, and she would make sure that she would be a better trainer all around. In battles, performing and in working with her Pokemon.

 **Author's Note:**

AHHH! AC you dumb dumb. Ash would never lose to Tierno and Dawn. That was...BULL. HAHAHA, I'm so clever. Do you get it? Nevermind. So yes, I had Ash and Serena lose to Tierno and Dawn, but reasons. Tierno's now becoming more comfortable with the coordinating idea and Dawn is helping him out. They had more "rhythm" I guess. And Ash and Serena...well those two aren't clicking just yet. Not in battle anyways. I do need to have some things to develop, now, don't I? I know the battle was kind of...meh, but I wanted it to be a little sloppy, because Ash and Serena were supposed to be sloppy. Hopefully you get where I'm going with it.

And Dawn is now an amourshipper. Don't you love it?

Next chapter will be out Monday or Tuesday. See you then.


	12. Trainers to Fight and Battles to Win

**Author's Note:**

Sorry about the lateness. My damn keyboard fudged up and I couldn't type. Quite the problem when trying to, well, type. I will be getting another chapter out reasonably soon, though, so not to worry. For now, though, I hope you enjoy this one.

 **Chapter 12: Trainers to Fight and Battles to Win**

"All right, Muk, finish up with Sludge Bomb!" Ash yelled, watching closely as his opponent's male Unfezant flew towards the poison type.

Muk inhaled quickly, expanding with the intake of air, and then fired out the globules of purple sludge. "M-m-m-muuuk!" he yelled, as the attack slammed hard into the incoming Unfezant and it immediately dropped towards the ground, crashing into a rock before landing and remaining still.

"Unfezant is unable to battle, so Muk and Ash are the winners!" Clemont called, waving his arm towards Ash as both trainers recalled their Pokemon.

Ash's opponent, a red-haired guy who was also in the advanced classes, walked across the field and shook Ash's hand. "Thanks for the battle, Ketchum. I guess it was just bad luck with what happened a couple of days ago, huh? I don't know how anyone can beat you."

"No, Dawn and Tierno deserved that one," Ash said honestly, glancing away briefly, still feeling embarrassed with how he'd handled that match. "We all need to keep training, because there's always stronger opponents out there for us to challenge ourselves against," he told the other trainer, looking back.

They said their last goodbyes, and then the other trainer left, as Clemont approached Ash, while the latter clipped Muk's pokeball back to his belt and Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder. "You really did well there, Ash," Clemont told him happily. "Pikachu, Greninja and Muk completely controlled that battle."

"Well, Pikachu and Greninja can do that a lot, and Muk's had a lot of success for me in the past," Ash said, smiling at the thought of the battle. It was nice to get a good win in after his rough outing a couple of days ago. He felt kind of tired, though. A lot of the more enthusiastic trainers seemed to be doing it as well, but Ash had made sure to be at the training facilities early in the mornings before classes started. It was already catching up to him.

"Hopefully you don't fall asleep in class again," Clemont said jokingly, noticing as Ash attempted to cover up a yawn. "I don't think Reggie was very happy when you started snoring in class yesterday. And he doesn't seem like the type to get mad, so you should probably start taking it easy so you can stay awake."

Ash shrugged and then straightened up a little, forcing his eyes to widen up a bit so he seemed more awake. "Yeah, I know, Clemont. It's just...I'm here so I can eventually achieve my dream and become a Pokemon Master. I didn't look like a future Pokemon Master the other day. I need to train a lot harder."

"Well, Dawn and Tierno both have a lot of battling experience, right? Serena didn't really have a chance to help you out," Clemont pointed out.

"It was my fault," Ash said quickly, not wanting any blame to go on Serena, or his Pokemon. He'd felt off in that battle, and he knew he needed to fix his own problems, rather than trying to point fingers at anyone else. "Serena said she wanted to be part of that battle so that she could learn, and I didn't give her the chance."

"You'll both get better," Clemont told Ash hopefully. "We all will. That's why we're here. Maybe it's a good thing to know you're not perfect. Not that you were thinking that before, but sometimes a humbling experience is good. I got a pretty bad beating at my gym a month before school started."

"Oh really?" Ash asked, as the two of them started making their way out of the battlefield area and to the lobby of the training facilities. Ash didn't know too much about Clemont's Gym Leader history, so he was curious to know how it had gone, considering all he knew about the Lumiose Gym was that Clembot ran it. "What happened?"

Clemont paused for a few moments as the two of them walked, approaching the doors at the entrance of the training facilities and making their way outside. Ash noticed him glance up towards the buildings that could be seen ahead, where the top of Prism Tower was visible. "There was a trainer waiting there for me after I'd been helping Professor Sycamore with some of the things for school. He'd just defeated Clembot with only his Hitmonlee, and had refused the badge. So when I arrived, he wanted to challenge me, and he was kind of rude and full of himself. Anyways, I accepted and..." He trailed off, looking a little embarrassed, and Ash knew that the rest of the story was not a very good one.

"Got beaten pretty badly, huh?" Ash asked, giving Clemont a sympathetic smile. Whoever had beaten Clemont was probably pretty strong. Ash had barely defeated Clembot when he'd challenged the Lumiose Gym, and he was sure that Clemont was even tougher to beat.

Clemont nodded, adjusting his glasses before continuing. "Yeah, it was bad right from the start. My Chespin was beaten with a single hit. Bunnelby put up a pretty good fight, but then he lost as well. Luxray managed to defeat the Hitmonlee, but he was nearly beaten by one hit by the trainer's Scizor. It only ended when the trainer, I think his name was Anton, was stopped by his sister, who said they had to leave."

"Sounds rough," Ash muttered, imagining how Clemont must have felt having been beaten like that. Battling tough trainers was always fun, but you never wanted to lose like that if you were a hardworking trainer. It didn't just make the trainer feel bad, but the Pokemon as well.

They walked for a few more minutes in silence, until they could see the Luxray Building up ahead, where their last class of the week would be held. Their Abilities class with Professor Sycamore. Ash was thinking that this class in particular would be interesting, as he knew that Professor Sycamore would have a lot to teach the students. He was hoping that Sycamore's studies on mega evolution would somehow make its way into this class as well.

When Ash and Clemont made their way into the building, Ash was sure that he could see Serena, Dawn, Shauna and Tierno making their way towards a hallway at the other end of the lobby, although he wasn't too sure. He felt kind of bad, as he'd been spending very little time with anyone but Clemont since his and Serena's loss the other day. He'd been so wrapped up in training, feeling he'd been getting behind.

"Hey Ash, you coming?" Clemont called out, and Ash turned around quickly, seeing that Clemont was approaching the entrance to their lecture hall. The raven-haired trainer quickly followed, and then the two entered the class. It was set up in a similar way to Ash's Levels and Experience class and his Natures class, which were sort of like theatres, with seats arranged in rows going up from a stage down below. There was also a podium and a desk to the side where Professor Sycamore was already standing, preparing for the class. A screen was also set up with a projector hanging from the middle of the class, for whatever kind of presentation Sycamore had planned.

Ash and Clemont took a couple of seats in the centre of a row near the back. Clemont was pulling out a notebook and a pen, while Ash just sat, absentmindedly petting Pikachu who sat comfortably in his lap. He'd figured out pretty quickly that taking notes was not something he'd be very good at, and as much as he believed in working hard to correct weaknesses, taking notes was a weakness he decided he could live with. He clearly wasn't the only one, though. Many of the trainers here were not very academic, so a lot of them had already abandoned note-taking.

As the class started to fill up, Ash looked around the room, and noticed that Professor Sycamore had put up a lot of pictures to demonstrate various abilities of Pokemon, and that many of them were from various Pokemon League competitions. Ash noticed Sawyer's Mega Sceptile in a picture, showing off the Lightning Rod ability and absorbing Tierno's Raichu's Thunder attack. Clemont then nudged Ash, having finished pulling out his necessary note-taking materials, and pointed to a picture to their right.

"Look, that's you in the Sinnoh League, right?" he asked, while Ash looked at the picture. It showed Ash looking on as his Infernape powered up with new energy with Blaze being activated in their battle against Paul. "What ability is that?"

"That's Blaze," Ash answered, surprised that Clemont wouldn't know one of the more common abilities among fire type Pokemon.

Clemont looked surprised, though, and even a little unsure. "I've never seen a Pokemon look like that during Blaze. Are you sure?"

"Infernape's special, I guess," Ash told him jokingly, exchanging a small smile with Pikachu, both of them clearly remembering their battle against Paul, and Infernape's willpower earning them the victory over one of their toughest opponents that they'd ever battled.

Clemont laughed, although he sounded a little uneasy as he did so. "You're an interesting trainer, Ash. You really know how to get the most out of your Pokemon. And you never hurt them by doing it. It really does come from your friendship."

"Well like I told Serena the other day," Ash said, glancing back down at Pikachu while he spoke, "I want to be a Pokemon Master, for sure, but I'm never going to do it at the cost of my Pokemon's happiness. We'll accomplish that goal, because we'll all want it, and not just because I want it. We're a team. A family." Ash suddenly stopped, realizing that he was hearing a small scratching noise, and looked at Clemont, noticing that he was writing. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Uh...taking notes," Clemont answered, looking embarrassed, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "Sorry, it's just that I'm really interested in how you bring so much out of your Pokemon. I guess I just want to look into it more."

Ash laughed, shrugging as though it wasn't a big deal. "Well, it's not that big a deal, is it?" he asked, thinking of how Sawyer had noted a lot of his words down when they'd first met. "You seem to be friends with your Pokemon as well. It's not like it's unusual."

"Yeah, of course," Clemont said quickly. "It's just...look at you and Pikachu, you and Greninja. Heck, even your Tauros a couple of days ago, and your Muk today. Your Pokemon care about you so much and you care about them just as much. You have to see how unique it is."

"I guess I don't," Ash answered honestly, shrugging. "I mean, I know we care about each other, but I guess I just think it's like that with a lot of trainers and their Pokemon. Being a trainer can't just be about battling, even if it's a really fun part of it." He pointed back to the picture of Infernape activating Blaze. "That's something I had to try and show my rival, Paul, Reggie's brother, back in Sinnoh. Infernape used to be his Pokemon and Paul just pushed him to fight and fight until he got stronger. Eventually, when that didn't work, he abandoned Infernape as a Chimchar." Ash paused here, remembering the day he'd taken over as Chimchar's trainer. "Chimchar wanted to get stronger, but battling was only part of the way to do it. He needed his trainer to care about him and he needed to be able to trust his trainer."

Clemont nodded, understanding in his eyes. "It sounds easy to you, but you know, I feel as though I still slip up on this stuff. I want to make my Pokemon happy, but sometimes I still think I put my own needs ahead of theirs. I still have a lot to learn."

In that moment, Professor Sycamore looked up and gazed around the classroom, with most of the students looking ready for the start of class. Before he began, Ash looked over to Clemont once more. "That's why we're here, Clemont. We all have a lot to learn."

* * *

"Welcome, class, to your first Abilities lecture," Professor Sycamore greeted, looking around the lecture hall, a big smile on his face. "I hope you've all had a good first week at Lumiose University. I know there's a lot to get used to, as many of you have been off on your journeys and haven't been to school in many years. However, as this is a school dedicated to Pokemon, I hope you're still finding it enlightening and exciting."

There were some murmurs of agreement from the students and then Ash turned to Clemont, an amused look on his face. "School is definitely way different. I do miss being on my journey."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind getting out of the city from time to time. Hopefully we'll get a chance to do that at some point," Clemont answered, nodding and then turning his attention back to Professor Sycamore, who looked as though he was about to continue.

"Now, for those of you who do not know, although I assume many of you do know, I am Professor Sycamore. I am a Pokemon Researcher here in the Kalos region, with my lab being right here in Lumiose City. I started this university with the hopes of passing on my knowledge to the next generation of Pokemon trainers, knowing that those eager to learn about what I and the other teachers have to offer, would become the kinds of trainers this world needs in order to improve the bonds of people and Pokemon."

For a few more minutes, Sycamore described the process of starting up the university, discussing how he'd met with researchers from other regions and various Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, Coordinators and Performers to plan out some of the classes that would be taught. He even talked about how he'd recruited Clemont prior to opening up the school, making him a little uncomfortable as many students turned in their seats, looking curiously at him. Ash nudged Clemont during this, looking quite proud of his friend. "You're famous, Clemont," he joked.

"I think I'd rather just be Clemont and not famous Clemont," the inventor told him honestly. "I was glad to help, but I don't really want the attention. I think you kind of know what that's like, don't you?" he asked in a quiet tone as Sycamore continued to speak.

"Yeah, I guess I know how you feel. It's not too bad, though. A lot of the students here are Coordinators and Performers, so they don't know too much about what happened in the Kalos League." Ash then shrugged, disappointment flashing across his face. "It's better if they don't know about that."

Clemont narrowed his eyes in confusion at that comment. He got the sense that Ash was talking about his finish at the Kalos League like it was a disaster that would embarrass him if everyone in school knew about it. He had no doubt that Ash was proud of what he'd accomplished, but he could tell that the loss was still painful for the raven-haired trainer.

"And now, with the introductions out of the way, I think it's time that we begin our class," Sycamore announced, looking around excitedly at the students and bringing Clemont's and Ash's attention back to the front of the room. "So, without further ado..." Sycamore quickly pulled out a small remote, and then pointed it up at the projector, clicking a button which turned it on, displaying an image on the screen at the front.

On the screen, an image of the three starting Pokemon in the Kalos region, a Froakie, Fennekin and Chespin, were displayed, with the title of the class, "Abilities", shown above. Underneath the pictures of the starter Pokemon, were two smaller images showing their evolved forms. Clemont could see that the picture of Greninja, underneath Froakie, was circled, a detail that Ash seemed to notice as well. "Maybe he _does_ know something about what my Greninja does," he wondered out loud.

"Now, can anyone tell me what an ability is, exactly?" Sycamore asked the class, looking around and then nodding and pointing as one student raised their hand a few rows away from him.

"It's something that a Pokemon can do while in a battle that will have an effect on how powerful their attacks are," the student answered, sounding fairly confident with the answer that they had given.

Sycamore nodded, and then looked around the room again. "That is correct, but not a complete answer. Many abilities will definitely influence the power of a Pokemon's attacks, but there are far more to a Pokemon's abilities than attack power."

Clemont decided to raise his hand, thinking that he had a fairly good answer in mind. Sycamore looked quite pleased to see him raise his hand, and immediately pointed to the inventor. Clemont quickly sat up straighter, and then gave his answer. An ability is something that has a variety of effects on the Pokemon. It can influence attack power, defence power, status conditions, speed. This can be for either the Pokemon with the ability or the opposing Pokmeon in a battle. Abilities can also have negative effects, such as Slaking's Truant. They can also play a role in situations outside of battle, such as Talonflame's Flame Body, which is useful for hatching eggs."

"Excellent answer, Clemont," Professor Sycamore said happily, nodding at Clemont as he relaxed a little in his seat, happy to have given a fairly good answer. "That sums up a lot of what abilities are about when it comes to Pokemon, for sure, however, there is still much to discuss. For example, why do some Pokemon of the same species have different abilities? Why do abilities change as some Pokemon evolve? Why do some abilities change as Pokemon _mega_ evolve? Why do some abilities exude more power with some Pokemon than with others? And finally, what of the abilities that are still being discovered?" Clemont could already feel his head aching with all the questions Sycamore was asking. He could already tell this class was going to be complicated, even if he knew a lot about various abilities already. Sycamore waited a moment, obviously noticing that the students were a little overwhelmed with his barrage of questions, and then spoke again once people seemed to have caught up. "All right, with this class, we'll look at some of these questions by examining the abilities of the three starter Pokemon of the Kalos region, and some of their...unique qualities." As he said the last part, Clemont noticed Sycamore glancing up towards where he and Ash were sitting, and knew that Ash's Greninja would be of particular interest to Sycamore.

"Do you think what Greninja can do has something to do with an ability?" Ash whispered to Clemont, looking deep in thought. "I'd wondered if it had something to do with mega evolution and Alain mentioned something like that after our battle at the Kalos League."

"Maybe it's something to do with both?" Clemont suggested, half asking it and half stating it.

Ash shrugged, still looking confused as he and Clemont turned back to look at Professor Sycamore as he continued his lecture. "For the first Pokemon, we'll discuss Chespin, and its evolution line of Quilladin and Chesnaught. Does anyone here have a Chespin, or at least one of its evolved forms, Quilladin or Chesnaught?" A few people raised their hands, including Clemont. Sycamore nodded at a few, as though remembering some of the trainers who had likely received their Chespin from him when they began their journeys. "Can one of you tell me what Chespin's most common ability is?" he asked, looking hopefully around the class.

Clemont then raised his hand, remembering one of his battles with Chespin, around the time that they had first met, when it had activated. Sycamore pointed to Clemont, seeing that he was the only one to raise his hand, and then he answered. "Most Chespin will have the Overgrow ability," Clemont explained, remembering the green glow that had surrounded Chespin, and his powered up grass attacks. "When a Pokemon's endurance is low and if their ability is Overgrow, their grass type attacks increase in power."

Sycamore nodded, pointing up to the picture of Chespin on the screen at the front of the class. "Yes, Overgrow, along with abilities such as Blaze and Torrent, which are Froakie's and Fennekin's common abilities, is often discussed as an "in a pinch" ability that is used when a Pokemon is in a tough spot in a battle. Chespin, along with many other grass types, including the starting grass type Pokemon for many other regions, will often have this ability. As Chespin evolves, its evolved forms, Quilladin and Chesnaught will hold on to this ability. The same can be said for Froakie and Fennekin. However, each of these Pokemon also have what is called a hidden ability. These abilities are rare among these Pokemon, but can provide unique advantages, or disadvantages, when in battle or even outside of battle. Chespin's hidden ability is known as Bulletproof, which allows it to be unaffected by specific moves. Fennekin and Froakie also have hidden abilities, known as Magician and Protean respectively. These hidden abilities are quite uncommon and many trainers will spend countless hours searching for Pokemon with these hidden abilities and never find one."

A student near the front of the class then raised his hand, looking quite interested in what Sycamore was saying. When the Pokemon Researcher signalled for the student to go ahead, he pointed up at the screen, seemingly towards Froakie's picture, and then asked, "What about Froakie, Frogadier and Greninja? Why is Greninja circled? Does it have to do with Ash Ketchum's Greninja and what it did during the Kalos League?"

Sycamore was quiet a few moments, looking up towards where Ash and Clemont were sitting, clearly thinking carefully about what he was going to say. "Yes, Greninja is definitely an interesting case, particularly when it comes to Ash's Greninja," he said, gesturing up towards Ash. He then aimed his remote and clicked again, changing the image on screen to one from the Kalos League, showing Greninja as he transformed, the torrent of water around his body. "I admit," Sycamore began, shrugging and shaking his head a little, "there are still many questions to ask and answer when it comes to Ash's Greninja, and how it relates to others of the species. However, I do believe that it has connections to both mega evolution and the ability of the Pokemon."

At this, Ash finally raised his hand, clearly wanting to know more about anything that could help him understand his Pokemon. As soon as Sycamore signalled for him to ask his question, Ash started speaking. "So do you think Greninja has a new ability? One that isn't Torrent or his other ability?" he asked, exchanging a quizzical look with Pikachu.

"I think that's a possible explanation, but there is still a lot of research that needs to be done on the topic," Sycamore admitted, smiling somewhat apologetically. "There are stories of a similar phenomenon centuries ago, but I can't be sure that it is exactly the same or how it might relate. My current theory is that it is connected to another hidden ability, along with mega evolution." He then walked over to his desk and pulled out a box, before walking out towards his podium, holding it up, and opening it. "If any of you have seen these before, you will know that the lighter stone, is a Key Stone, while the darker stone, is a Mega Stone, in this case, Garchompite. When the bond between a Pokemon and trainer is at its purest, the Key Stone of the trainer, will connect to the Pokemon's Mega Stone and the phenomenon of mega evolution will occur." He then looked back up towards Ash and smiled, looking excited about the complicated question he was discussing. "Perhaps Greninja has an ability that makes the mega evolutions stones irrelevant. Perhaps your bond is that strong."

* * *

Dawn, Serena, Shauna and Tierno were all taking their seats in the performance theatre that would be the location of their Appeals class in the Luxray Building. It was similar to the Contest halls that Dawn had been in before, and according to Serena and Shauna, it was similar to the Performance theatres as well. The seats were set up somewhat like a movie theatre and a stage was down below, where Dawn could already see Fantina waiting patiently for the students to get ready. She looked the same as the last time Dawn had seen her, wearing her purple dress and her violet hair still done up in four puffed up bunch

"You said Fantina is from Sinnoh as well, right Dawn?" Shauna asked from her seat to Dawn's right. "Isn't she a Gym Leader there?"

Dawn nodded, smirking a little at the thought. Ash had told her a couple of stories of having to wait for his badge at Fantina's gym, due to her regular absences, which were often due to Contests. "Yeah, she's the Hearthrome City Gym Leader. She's very enthusiastic about Contests, though. She was a judge at the Sinnoh Grand Festival and she really knows her stuff when it comes to coordinating.

"I wonder how she'll run this class," Serena seemed to think out loud from Dawn's left. The Coordinator turned to see her friend staring ahead at the stage in deep thought. "In the Appeals round of a Contest, the focus has to be on the Pokemon, doesn't it? Not really on the trainer. At least, not as much as a Performance would allow."

"Yeah," Dawn said with a nod, seeing why Serena might be a bit concerned. "I'm guessing she has something planned, though. Half the people in this class are Performers." She didn't really know if that was true or not, but Dawn was still fairly confident that Fantina wouldn't make her class favour one group of students over the others.

"Wait, if Appeals are focused solely on the Pokemon, wouldn't that make my rhythmic dancing pointless?" Tierno asked, looking somewhat horrified as he looked over from his seat next to Shauna.

"If that's what makes your Pokemon shine, then that's what you should do, Tierno," Dawn said encouragingly. "Besides, it's not like the trainer is completely ignored in Appeals. It's just that the Pokemon is the focus."

It looked as though Tierno was about to say something else, but just in that moment, the entire lecture hall seemed to go quiet all at once and Dawn looked down at the stage to see Fantina standing up straight, right at the centre in the back. Knowing that she had the full attention of her students, Fantina pulled out a pokeball, and Dawn could just barely see the familiar sight of a ball capsule, which was a special device that, along with a specific seal or sticker, would produce special effects when releasing a Pokemon from its pokeball.

Fantina's display didn't disappoint at all. After a quick bow, she stood up straight again, and then tossed her pokeball up high, shouting, "Drifblim, to ze stage!" in her heavy French accent. Then, a swirling vortex of purple smoke emerged from the pokeball, spinning around the stage, before suddenly, a Pokemon burst forth from the centre. It was a purple balloon-like Pokemon with what looked like a small white cloud on its head, and four ribbon-like arms extending out. The purple smoke billowed off of its body, giving it a spooky, yet still oddly beautiful look. It was the exact kind of entrance Dawn would have expected.

The class immediately began to applaud, almost everyone looking extremely impressed. Even among those who had competed in Grand Festivals and Masterclass Showcases, it was clearly an impressive entrance. "Not bad, huh guys?" Dawn asked her friends, who were all clapping as well.

"What was that thing her pokeball was in?" Serena asked, looking down curiously as Fantina pocketed her pokeball.

"It's a capsule," Dawn explained, understanding why Serena and many others wouldn't know what it was. "It's used in Sinnoh Contests for grand entrances. You put your pokeball in it and then put a seal on it with whatever effect you want. There's tons of them, like stars and hearts and fireworks. You definitely need to try it out for your Performances."

Serena nodded, looking interested, and then the two girls returned their attention down below so they could pay attention to what Fantina had to say. "Welcome to my Appealz class tout le monde," she called out happily. "My name iz Fantina, and I am from ze wonderful place known as ze Sinnoh region. Some of you may know zat I am a Gym Leader back home, but do not worry, Contests, and even Performances are two of my specialtiez."

A student near the front then raised their hand, and Fantina quickly pointed to her, signalling for the girl to speak. "How is it that you know about Performances?" she asked eagerly, showing she was an aspiring Performer.

"Zat is an excellent question madame," Fantina said happily. "It just so happenz to be zat I am good friendz with ze Performance Host Monsieur Pierre here in ze Kalos region. We keep in touch quite regularly and discuss ze up and coming starz of ze Contests and Performances going on. I am quite looking forward to coaching ze joint Performer and Coordinator team here at Lumiose University with what I have learned from both competitions and my own experience as a Gym Leader."

"Do you know Monsieur Pierre?" Dawn asked, looking at Shauna and then Serena. It was now her turn to be curious.

Serena was the first to answer, keeping her voice low as Fantina continued to answer questions from various students. "Yeah, he hosts the Showcases around the Kalos region. He hosted a fancy dance party last year as well. He's pretty popular."

"You know, I still don't get why we didn't go to that," Tierno muttered, looking at Serena with an odd smirk on his face. "I would've loved to go with you, Serena."

Dawn had realized fairly quickly that Tierno did this kind of thing with not only Serena and Shauna, even her a couple times, but quite a few girls. Serena seemed to be his main focus, though, and she didn't seem to reciprocate that interest. She managed an awkward smile, though, and just gave a small shake of her head. "I...don't think it would have worked."

Luckily for Serena, Fantina seemed to be finishing up with her questions, and looked about ready to actually start the class, so they all turned their attention back to her. "All right, class," she called out, her Drifblim floating down to hover by her side, "I believe it iz now time to truly begin. Drifblim, let us show zeez lovely students a performance they won't forget."

"Have you ever seen Fantina do this before?" Serena asked, leaning forward in her seat as Fantina and Drifblim got ready.

"A couple of times," Dawn answered. "She beat my friend Zoey in a Contest battle once, and that was before Zoey ended up winning the Sinnoh Grand Festival."

Serena and the others looked pretty impressed by that, and all of them watched closely as Fantina stepped back, nodding to Drifblim to signal that they were starting. "Drifblim, use Ominous Wind sil vous plait!"

The entire lecture hall watched in stunned silence as the ghost type shot up high into the air, before spinning rapidly, a dark purple wind shooting out in spirals from its ribbon-like arms. It wasn't too much to hide Drifblim's form among the haze, but the Blimp Pokemon looked eerie within it, which was clearly the effect that Fantina was going for.

"Now, use Psychic!" Fantina called out, spinning around as she made the order, looking like she was doing one of Tierno's dance moves.

Drifblim responded to the order immediately, swooping down, before hovering just above Fantina, and then it looked up, body glowing in a blue aura. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, and then many students gasped as the remnants of the Ominous Wind display began to shift, the blue aura of Psychic forming around different forms that were being made with the smoke of the wind. Dawn quickly realized that Drifblim was making copies of itself with the smokey, purple air from its Ominous Wind. As soon as about a dozen copies were made, Drifblim floated a little higher, waiting for Fantina's next order.

"And finish zis up with a beautiful Will-O-Wisp and Psychic combo!" Fantina shouted, spreading out her arms, and looking up excitedly towards her Pokemon.

With surprising speed, Drifblim shot forward, circling its assembly of copies, a blue flame coming out and circling the line. As Drifblim finished, Dawn could see that the light blue aura surrounded the flame as well, although it was a little less noticeable than with the Ominous Wind copies. When the circling flame was finally complete, Drifblim lowered itself to hover over Fantina once more, and then suddenly, the flames converged on the Drifblim copies, exploding each on contact, and firing out purple and blue fireworks from the centre of the explosion.

Dawn and her friends were as amazed as the rest of the crowd as they applauded their new teacher's performance. Even for a group that had seen the Top Coordinators and a Kalos Queen in their performances, it was definitely impressive what Fantina had showed off, along with her Drifblim.

Once the class had settled down a little bit, Fantina gave a small bow, before straightening up and then looking around the class. "I am glad zat you all enjoyed my little demonstration. I do hope it was impressive enough for even those of you who have competed in Grand Festivals for Contests or Masterclass Showcases for Performances." She paused as many students called out, assuring that her performance had been more than impressive. When she spoke again, she was looking up at her Drifblim, clearly deep in thought. "Now, why is it zat a performance such as ze one I just showed, be successful in a Pokemon Contest or Showcase?"

A student quickly raised their hand from the front row, and Fantina pointed to her, signalling for her to answer. "That's simple, really," she answered, as though it was obvious, which in some ways it was. "It showed off the power and beauty of your Pokemon. Drfiblim executed three moves and manipulated them each with perfect precision, before finally using them in a final, beautiful display."

"Ah, well merci beaucoup for zat," Fantina told her, nodding her head in thanks, "however, zer is more to it than that. Zer is always more to it than that. I believe zer is more to it than even I know now, although zer is still one little thing zat I would like for you to understand about ensuring zat your performances are the best that they can be."

To Dawn's surprise, Serena held up her hand next, and Fantina quickly noticed, nodding for Serena to give her answer. "You and Drifblim showed off the close bond that you share," she said slowly, almost as though she was trying to find the right words as she spoke. "With each order, you didn't tell Drifblim the specific actions to do, but it knew exactly how to perform them. You clearly trusted each other and were in perfect sync."

"C'est magnifique!" Fantina shouted, clapping her hands together as she looked up towards Serena, who was smiling shyly. "Zat is exactly it. Any judge, whether it be a crowd in a Showcase, or judges in a Contest, will be able to see if you and your Pokemon trust one another. If you lack zat trust, your Performance fails, no matter how beautiful it may appear on ze surface. A battle requires zis trust between trainer and Pokemon, and a performance is no different."

* * *

"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind! Braixen, use Hidden Power! Then Pancham, you jump up and hit that Hidden Power with Arm Thrust!" Serena took a deep breath and stood back after calling her orders, watching closely as her Pokemon leaped into action.

Sylveon bounded into the middle of the stage, standing a few feet in front of Serena, standing up straight and aiming her feelers into the air. "Syl-sylveon!" she cried out, as a gust of sparkling pink wind shot up above her, swirling around, looking beautiful just on its own.

Braixen was next, running up from the side of the stage, trailing her branch-wand behind her, sparks shooting off from it, before she deposited it in her tail, held up her paws, and then launched a blue sphere of energy into Sylveon's Fairy Wind. "Braixen-brai!" she called out excitedly, watching as her attack seemed to spin in circles within the pink wind.

Finally, Pancham made his move, running up from his side of the stage, leaping into the air and somersaulting into Sylveon's Fairy Wind, which seemed to pick him up and carry him towards Braixen's Hidden Power attack. His arm glowed white as he approached, and with a loud shout of, "Pancham-pan!" he slammed his fist into the orb, and it exploded in a shower of blue sparks as Pancham used the momentum to propel himself higher into the air.

Serena looked up, smiling proudly at her Pokemon's performance, seeing Pancham lit up by the lights of the stage and looking mystical in the pink dust of Fairy Wind and the sparks from Hidden Power shooting up all around him. Sylveon was careful to let him down slowly, and once the three Pokemon were finally settled, they turned to their trainer, each looking hopefully at her.

After their Appeals class, Serena, Dawn, Shauna and Tierno had all been inspired to head over to the training facilities to test out some of the techniques Fantina had shown them and overall, just to hang out with their Pokemon. They'd all practised hard for a couple of hours, before finally agreeing that they'd been working hard enough for the day and decided to head back to work on some of the things from some of the other classes.

Serena had decided to come back, though, once she'd finished a late lunch. She'd checked to see if Clemont and Ash had wanted to come, but hadn't seen them since the day before and wasn't able to find them after lunch, so just headed back to the training facilities alone. She found it a little strange, but for most of the time since arriving at Lumiose University, the main stage of the training facility was often open, with most trainers, even Performers and Coordinators, deciding to train on the battlefields instead. Serena definitely enjoyed this fact, as she liked the peace and quiet it offered for her and her Pokemon, and it allowed her to get lost in her training.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though she had got a little _too_ lost in her training. As she looked happily at her Pokemon in front of her, about to congratulate them on their hard work, she glanced up and noticed a clock at the other end of the theatre. It was already time for dinner. She'd been at this for hours and now that she was paying attention, she could see that her three Pokemon were looking exhausted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you three," she quickly said, rushing forward and kneeling in front of her three Pokemon. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard to train. I just got so motivated after Fantina's class that I wanted to keep working with you guys. Seeing how she worked with her Drifblim really inspired me."

"Brai-braixen-brai," Braixen told her comfortingly, placing a paw and Serena's shoulder, smiling at her trainer. Sylveon mimicked the action by placing a feeler on Serena's other shoulder, while Pancham gave her leg a small hug.

"You three are the best," Serena whispered, smiling at her three Pokemon. "I can't wait for us to get a proper chance to perform again. We'll make it onto that Performance team for sure, and then we'll win the IPL. Does that sound good to you?"

"That sounds like an awesome plan," a familiar voice suddenly said. Serena jumped a little at the sudden interruption, and looked up to see that she was no longer alone in the theatre, with someone else now walking up onto the stage.

"Hi Ash," she greeted, somewhat awkwardly. She'd felt a bit like he'd been upset with her for how they'd done in their battle together, despite Shauna's and Dawn's assurances that he would never act that way. "Um...what...are you doing here?"

He shrugged, standing still a few feet away from her and her Pokemon. "Same as you, I guess. I've been spending a lot of time training here. I'm guessing you've noticed?"

Serena let out a small laugh at that. "Yeah, I haven't seen too much of you. And today you've kept Clemont away from all of us as well."

"Clemont was only training with me this morning," Ash said, looking a little embarrassed. "I think he headed over to his gym to check on Clembot earlier. He'll probably be back at the Greninja Building by now." He then rubbed the back of his head, looking down at the ground, almost shamefully. "But yeah, I've kind of disappeared a bit too much, I guess." He exchanged a quick glance with Pikachu on his shoulder and then looked back up at Serena. "Sorry about that. It's not about our loss. I mean, it is but it isn't."

Serena didn't exactly know how to answer that, but decided she'd go along with it. "So, you don't think I screwed up the battle for us? I thought I let you, Pancham and Tauros down. I got all distracted by how fast everything was going. I just couldn't keep up, I guess."

"No, things like that happen, but I didn't make it any easier. I think my battling has been off since the Kalos League. Nothing has felt the same since then." Serena was shocked to see Ash looking so down. Even after their loss to Dawn and Tierno, he'd put on a brave face. Now, he wasn't even trying to hide how he was feeling. It didn't last long, though, as he quickly rubbed his nose, chuckling a little. "I won't bother you with that, though."

"It's okay," Serena assured him, standing up and stretching her legs a little, feeling stiff from her hours of training. She decided to recall her tired Pokemon to their pokeballs, thanking them first for their hard work, and then she pocketed them and turned back to Ash. "Oh, um, did you see my training?"

Ash smiled, before nodding towards the exit of the theatre, as if suggesting they start walking out. Serena nodded in agreement, and the two of them began to make their way towards the exit, before Ash answered her. "I thought it was really amazing, Serena. I guess I don't know too much about this kind of thing, but if I was a judge, I'd say it was really good."

"Oh, thank you," Serena said happily, blushing a little from the praise, even though she knew she'd only been doing a very minor part of her routine for what Ash had likely seen. A compliment was a compliment, though, and she was happy to accept it. "Have you ever seen a Showcase before?" she decided to ask, as the two exited the theatre and walked out into the hallway.

Ash thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Not really. I've seen clips of them on TV, but I've never actually been to one. I can't wait to see you and Shauna perform, though. I know I'll be watching with you two involved. Same with Dawn and her Contests."

"Don't forget Tierno," Serena said quickly, laughing at the thought of Tierno hiding his obvious desire to try Contests.

"Right...Tierno as well," Ash corrected, laughing as well.

"When do you think the IPL will start?" Serena suddenly asked, the question seemingly popping into her head. She realized that, although many of the students had excitedly been talking about it, there hadn't been any mention of tryouts or anything by any of the teachers.

Ash was silent for a moment, and then laughed again, almost as though he was still laughing about the Tierno Contest joke. Serena looked at him in confusion, wondering what was so funny, and then he pointed ahead, down the hall to the lobby up ahead. "I think that answers your question," he said excitedly, walking faster, clearly wanting to see what he had pointed out from up close.

Serena quickly followed after him, and then the two were standing in the lobby a moment later, looking up at a sign.

 _Lumiose University – IPL Tryouts_

 _The Lumiose Luxrays Need Their Team!_

 _Students, the largest Pokemon competition outside of the Pokemon League, Grand Festival and Masterclass Showcase is coming to our brand new school! The Interschool Pokemon League will test all the skills you've learned on your previous journeys, and all that you learn in school, on your quest to be the very best. The Lumiose Luxrays may be a new school, but we believe we can compete with the best. If you think you have what it takes to join either the LU Battle Team or the LU Performance Team, Lumiose University wants you to step up and tryout for next Saturday! The competition will be fierce not only against the other schools, but also among your own peers as you compete for a spot on the team. Only advanced trainers will be permitted to participate, although all trainers are welcome to observe. Rules for the tryouts for each team are listed below._

 _If you wish to tryout for the Battle Team, you must be enrolled in advanced classes. Those who sign up will compete in a round robin tournament, and the three trainers with the best records will be selected to compete for the Lumiose University Battle Team._

 _If you wish to tryout for the Performance Team, you must be enrolled in advanced classes. Coordinators who sign up will compete in a round robin tournament, and the two trainers with the best records will be selected to compete for the Lumiose University Performance Team in the coordinating slots. Performers will participate in a quiz, baking challenge and fashion show, along with a freestyle performance and the two with the best records will be selected to compete for the Lumiose University Performance Team in the performance slots._

Serena felt a rush of wind as Ash jumped forward, pulling out a pen and immediately signing up for the battling tryouts. "Yes! This is just what we need, isn't it Pikachu?" he asked his partner Pokemon excitedly. "Nothing like a bunch of battles to get us going again." As soon as he was done signing up, he offered his pen to Serena. "You're signing up, too, right?"

"Yeah, of course,"Serena said quickly, taking the pen and quickly signing her name on the list for Performers. When she was done, and she handed the pen back to Ash and he was putting it away, she looked a little nervously at the format for the tryouts. "Aren't you a little nervous about how this works?" she asked. "It seems like one mistake and you could lose your chance."

"Hey, if you do anything half as good as what you were doing while training back there," Ash said confidently, "and you'll be winning the whole IPL before you know it."

Serena laughed at that, and raised an eyebrow at Ash. "Same with you, I'm sure. If you and Pikachu can battle half as well as you did in the Kalos League, this should be easy."

"IPL, here we come!" Ash announced happily, turning happily towards the exit of the training facilities. "We've got trainers to fight and battles to win."

 **Author's Note:**

The good stuff...the _really_ good stuff, is on its way. The IPL, my wonderful little creation if I do say so myself, is going to be so very epic. At least I hope it will. I have a ridiculously long planning document for it, so it damn well better be good. Don't expect tryouts next chapter, though. It was just a tease in this one. The chapter after that, though...yes. And it won't be a super long tournament. I think we know how things will turn out for the tryouts. None of the main cast will make it onto their teams. None.

And a couple of questions from last chapter. Paul is not gonna be in this story, but he will be in the sequel. He will be mentioned, though, and some stuff will be hinted at in regards to him. And as for the scheduling of classes, I realize I did not make that clear. I based it off of my university's class times so most classes meet 2 times a week for 1.5 hours (minus 10 minutes for class changes) and some are one meeting but a 3 hour class. Doesn't seem like much, but the idea is that most of the work is done outside of class. It does add up. When it comes to this university, readings will be replaced by training and then homework will be minimal, but to people who don't go to school once they reach ten...well it'll be a lot.

And another thing...Team Rocket. They exist in this universe and TRio did bug Ash a bit, but not as much (meaning not every damn day). They may show up at some point...

I will see you soon. Next chapter will be kind of fun. *cough cough* Rowlet *cough cough* Sorry...new keyboard just types its own stuff.

P.S. I apologize to those of you who are French. I may have insulted you with Fantina...abuse me in the reviews if you must.


	13. New Friends

**Author's Note:**

Well, this one's a bit of a weird chapter. Things go into full on fanfiction mode. Remember the assignment for Levels and Experience? Well Clemont, Trevor and Tierno also have that, which was mentioned once or twice at some point, so they will be getting a new Pokemon as well. Hopefully you like my choices.

 **Chapter 13: New Friends**

With the first week of school done, and the announcement of tryouts for the IPL teams having been made, things had been pretty hectic at Lumiose University for a few days. While the first week of classes had been more about introducing the topics, it was already becoming clear that in the second week, things would be going at a much faster pace. As Clemont busily took notes in his Levels and Experience class, Trevor doing the same next to him, the realization of how busy they were getting was truly hitting him. It was only going to get harder with their project being assigned today, although it _was_ the kind of project that would be enjoyable even for the many students who hated homework.

As Yuzo discussed some of the different evolutions that required battle experience, Trevor leaned over and whispered to Clemont, sounding somewhat excited, although it was hard to tell since he was whispering. "Hey Clemont, what kind of Pokemon are you hoping for?" he asked, quickly noting down something Yuzo said before looking back at Clemont. "I think it'd be cool to get another fire type to go with my Charizard. Or maybe another Kanto Pokemon."

Clemont thought for a few moments, not really sure how to answer. He'd definitely been excited about the idea of getting a new Pokemon from this class, and seeing the desk full of the trays of pokeballs, he could barely resist glancing over at it every few minutes. He hadn't really thought about which Pokemon he specifically wanted, though. He would truly be happy with whatever one he got, as long as they got along and would be able to work well with each other. "I guess I'll just go with whatever Pokemon I get. There's a lot of students here, so I think we just need to see where it goes."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Trevor said with a small nod. He was silent for a few moments as the two of them noted down a few more points from the lecture, and then he looked back over to Clemont. "I'm just a little worried that the Pokemon I get might not get along with Charizard and the others. I don't know if I've told you, but my Charizard gets a little...restless sometimes. He really likes to battle, so sometimes he overdoes it. It hasn't been a huge deal with the Pokemon I have, but sometimes other Pokemon and their trainers get a little frustrated by it."

"Once they get to know each other, I'm sure it'll be fine," Clemont told his friend confidently. "My Chespin can frustrate others as well, since he has a bad habit of stealing food, but once people and other Pokemon get to know him, it's usually fine. Sometimes the hyperactive Pokemon are the more interesting ones to learn about.

The two of them were fairly quiet after that, although at this point, it was clear it had less to do with listening to the lecture, and more to do with wondering about what Pokemon they were going to be receiving from Yuzo for the class assignment. Clemont was still managing to take notes and listen to what Yuzo was saying, but he continued to glance over at the desk with the pokeballs, imagining all the possibilities of which ones he could get.

Clemont could understand Trevor's nerves about how the new Pokemon would interact with his current Pokemon, but he felt surprisingly confident about what would come of this. He knew it wouldn't be easy, as it was likely supposed to be difficult, with it being an assignment for one of his most important classes. However, if he was learning anything from Ash, it was that nothing pushed a trainer and their Pokemon forward like bonding and working hard together. He was sure that whoever he received, would be able to help him through this class and whatever lay ahead.

When the lecture finally ended, with about twenty minutes still remaining in the class, Yuzo wrapped things up, and then approached the desk with the pokeballs. He aimed up his remote towards the projector and the screen flashed with a picture of all the starter types that would be available to the students. Clemont noticed that two of them were actually blacked out, though, with one being a cat-like Pokemon called Litten, and the other being a sea lion-like Pokemon called Popplio. The other Pokemon, an owl-like Pokemon named Rowlet, had a star next to it. Clemont supposed this meant that two of them were unavailable, while Yuzo likely only had one Rowlet.

Yuzo confirmed this, as many students seemed to be noticing this as well, pointing up to the screen. "All right, class," Yuzo called out, raising up his hands for silence, "I know this may be quite disappointing to some of you, but unfortunately we were unable to get any Alola region starter Pokemon with the exception of one Rowlet. With the way this process is going to go, I ask that you accept the Pokemon that chooses _you_ and to not complain if the Rowlet does not select you. I believe it is best if these Pokemon select their new trainers, as it will allow you to more easily bond with each other. Are there any issues with this?"

Someone near a couple of rows down from Clemont and Trevor raised their hand, but when Yuzo signalled for them to talk, it wasn't a complaint. "I was just wondering how this will work for the other classes. Are there going to be enough Pokemon for the other students?"

"Oh yes, we have enough for everyone," Yuzo assured him. "This class has an advantage I suppose, but the important thing is for the Pokemon to choose their trainers and for you to form a bond with each other. We don't need jealousy to get in the way of that."

Clemont nodded to himself, in full agreement with Yuzo's words. He'd accept any Pokemon, no matter how common or rare it was. He was becoming a little restless, though. He was becoming far too excited and he could tell the rest of the class was that way as well. He wondered if Yuzo was trying to make people more excited so they would just be happy with whatever Pokemon they got, but realized that that was likely not how her worked.

Finally, Yuzo turned around and approached the desk. "All right, I guess we can begin, then. I'm going to let out the Pokemon. It will be a little hectic at first, I warn you, but these Pokemon are fairly young, so they get tired out fairly quickly. You are free to leave your seats and interact with the Pokemon, but what I hope is that you will accept any Pokemon that seems to take a liking to you. Are we in agreement on that?" There were some murmurs of agreement from the students, and then Yuzo placed his hand over one of the pokeballs. "All right, then let us begin."

As the lights began to flash down below in front of Yuzo, and as Pokemon began to emerge and start wandering up towards seats, Clemont could see many students excitedly making their way towards them, eager to meet their potential new partners. He and Trevor actually remained in their seats, both deciding it would be too hectic down with most of the other students. The crowd was actually causing many of the Pokemon to turn away.

At one point, Clemont caught sight of the one Rowlet flying around, and asked Trevor to scan it with his PokeDex, as he'd never actually seen one before. Trevor did so, and then the Pokedex gave its brief explanation. "Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokemon. This wary Pokemon uses photosynthesis to store up energy during the day, while becoming active at night. It will silently glide, drawing near to its targets before they even notice, and then pelt them with vicious kicks."

"Oh wow, sounds pretty strong," Trevor muttered, looking up at Rowlet as it scanned the class beneath it. Clemont could already tell that it didn't seem to spot any trainers that it felt a connection to, but that didn't stop a few students from looking up and calling out hopefully to it. People handled it fairly well, though, and didn't attempt to push it when it flew away.

Clemont watched Rowlet a few more moments, and then he turned his attention back to some of the Pokemon wandering among the seats that had managed to get around the large group of students blocking the aisles. As Clemont watched a Bulbasaur walk up to a girl who was scanning some of the Pokemon with her Pokedex, he was distracted by Trevor suddenly jumping up excitedly, a small, blue amphibious Pokemon with a blue fin in the middle of its head and one on its tail. It also had two orange gills on each side of its head, and it was staring at Trevor with wide, interested eyes. "Mud-mudkip?" it squeaked, approaching slowly.

"Wow, it's a Mudkip," Clemont said, adjusting his glasses as he leaned forward to look at the approaching Pokemon. "That's the water type starter Pokemon in the Hoenn region. Looks like it's taken a liking to you, Trevor."

"You think so?" Trevor asked, looking a little awkward as he pulled his PokeDex out again and scanned Mudkip.

"Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon. Mudkip uses the sensitive radar receptors on its headfin to determine what's going on around it. In a pinch, it can brandish enough power to crush rocks." As the PokeDex finished, Clemont could see the Trevor staring at Mudkip in surprise, clearly wondering how such a small Pokemon could be capable of crushing rocks. He'd trainer a Charmander before, though, so Clemont couldn't see how Trevor could be too surprised. Not to mention the fact that he'd seen Ash's Pikachu in action.

"So Mudkip...are you...um..." Trevor trailed off, looking a little awkward. Finally, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Do you want to be my partner, Mudkip?"

"Mudkip-mud!" Mudkip squeaked happily, jumping up into Trevor's arms. It had clearly just been waiting for Trevor to ask.

Clemont was just about to congratulate Trevor on his new Pokemon, but just in that moment, he heard a strange noise, and paused, listening carefully. It sounded like a combination of sniffing, crunching and rustling. His eyes suddenly widened, and he whipped his head around to where he'd left his backpack, which he'd packed a sandwich in, shouting, "Chespin, I've told you to stop-"

"Tur?" the Pokemon eating Clemont's food said, muffled by the food in its mouth. It was a green, tortoise-like Pokemon, with a light green body and a black and brown shell on its back. A small seed seemed to be growing out of a brown patch on its head.

Trevor took the initiative to scan the Pokemon with his PokeDex, while it turned its attention away from Clemont and continued to eat what was in his bag, now electing to chew on some of his notes. "Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon. Its shell is made of earth and when it absorbs water, it becomes harder."

"Turtwig..." Clemont whispered, staring at the Pokemon destroying what was in his backpack. "That's the grass type starter in the Sinnoh region. I think Ash said he had one that's now a Torterra." He watched Turtwig another few moments, and realized that he should probably stop it from eating everything in his backpack, so he stepped forward, reaching out to his backpack. "I think you should probably stop eating everything in here," he started to say. "You'll get sick if-"

"Twig!" Turtwig suddenly shouted, narrowing its eyes and shooting out a seed from his head, which instantly hit Clemont on the nose, and then burst apart, little vines coming out and wrapping around his head. "Turt-turt-twig!" Turtwig seemed to laugh, before going back to eating Clemont's notes.

"Hey, stop that!" Clemont whined, grabbing at the vines covering his face. He managed to rip them off, and then lunged forward again, attempting to grab his backpack.

"TurrrTWIG" Turtwig shouted loudly, head shooting up, before bracing itself and then leaping up at Clemont. The two crashed to the ground, and Clemont's eyes shot wide open as he looked up to see a smug looking Turtwig standing on his chest.

"Well, it looks like you and Turtwig are hitting it off," a voice said from behind him, and Clemont glanced up to see Yuzo standing behind Trevor. "So I take it Trevor will be taking Mudkip and you will be taking Turtwig, Clemont?" he asked, when nobody said anything.

At that, Clemont immediately looked back towards Turtwig, who actually didn't look appalled by the idea, which Clemont had expected. It wasn't like he was actually too thrilled about the idea himself at the moment, but when he saw Turtwig looking like he was just excited to be playing around, he couldn't help but smile at the grass type. "Um...how about it, Turtwig? Think it's a good idea?"

"Twig!" Turtwig said excitedly. Clemont smiled again, sitting up a bit as Turtwig jumped off of him. Clemont slowly reached out his arm, about to pet Turtwig, but it moved out of the way immediately. Within seconds, it had another one of Clemont's notebooks out, and was munching away at it contentedly.

"Looks like you two are already good friends," Yuzo proclaimed, before pulling out two pokeballs and handing one to Trevor and the other to Clemont. "I look forward to seeing how you all work together."

Clemont stared at the pokeball in his hand as Yuzo walked off, meeting with other new trainer and Pokemon pairings. It was definitely not how he had imagined getting his new Pokemon, but he supposed he would accept it. _I just hope Turtwig and Chespin won't eat everything_ , he thought worriedly.

* * *

"Make sure to apply the ointment very carefully, and remember that you don't need too much," Nurse Joy called out, as she wandered around the classroom. "Grass type Pokemon are particularly susceptible to fire type attacks, so when they are burned, they will be in the most discomfort. Make sure to be very gentle, even though this is just a practice exercise."

"All right, Bulbasaur, let's see if I can do it right this time," Ash said confidently, holding up his tube of burn ointment in front of him. "I promise I won't poke you in the nose again. Neither of us wants that to happen again."

"Bulba...saur..." Bulbasaur groaned, looking uneasy, but sitting still as Ash began to apply the ointment to his head, in the area between his ears. "Saur," he said happily, as Ash seemed to be doing a fairly good job at it.

"Good job, Ash, I knew you'd get the hang of it eventually," Marie said from her spot to Serena's right. "It's a good thing Bulbasaur's tough. Not many Pokemon would tolerate getting ointment stuck up there nose."

"I still don't even know how you managed to do that," Serena said, laughing as she thought of the scene. It truly had been quite bizarre, but it was becoming quite common for Ash to have these mishaps in their Pokemon Health classes. Even though this was only their fourth one.

Ash narrowed his eyes, pausing in his application of the ointment and looking at Serena. "Hey, I didn't _try_ to do it, you know. It just kind of...happened." He then looked at the Pokemon sitting in front of Serena, who was watching him with amusement. It was a small, green, reptilian Pokemon with a cream-coloured underside and a yellow stripe down its back. "Stop laughing, Snivy," Ash said, shaking his head as he looked at his Pokemon. "You want me to be good at this stuff, don't you?"

"Snive," Snivy said quietly, folding her little arms and tilting her head up as though she didn't care.

"Don't worry, if you can't do it, I can help Snivy out," Serena said cheerily, smiling at the grass type. When they'd found out that they'd be treating grass type Pokemon for the class, Ash had made a call to Professor Oak to bring Bulbasaur over and since Serena didn't have any grass types, he'd called over Snivy as well. Serena was quickly growing quite fond of Snivy, who reminded her a little bit of Pancham.

"Snivey-snive," Snivy muttered, looking happily at Serena.

Marie, who was practising with a Chespin that Nurse Joy had brought, looked at Snivy and Serena and then smirked. "Snivy wiped off her burn ointment. You need to make sure she keeps it on, you know. Maybe Ash is gonna win this one."

"Huh?" Serena narrowed her eyes and looked at Snivy suspiciously. "Did you really wipe it off?"

"Snive," Snivy muttered again, folding her little arms and once again staring away to give the appearance of not caring. However, Serena did notice a hint of guilt in the grass type's eyes when she looked away.

"All right, Bulbasaur, we've got this. Almost done," Ash announced, giving Pikachu a mini high five and then doing the same with Bulbasaur, who used one of his vines to do it. "I think we did it," Ash said happily, looking at his work.

Serena pursed her lips as she started applying the ointment to Snivy once again, telling the Grass Snake Pokemon to make sure she didn't wipe it off this time. By the time she was done, she could tell the job wasn't as well done as her previous attempt, but it was still decent enough for when Nurse Joy came over to inspect their work. As usual, Marie's was nearly perfect. Serena's was good, but not as good as her first few classes. And then, surprisingly, Nurse Joy praised Ash's work as exemplary, saying that Bulbasaur would have been healed perfectly with the work Ash had done.

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, as Nurse Joy walked away. "Maybe I should think about becoming a Pokemon Doctor as well as a Pokemon Master. What do you think, guys?" he asked, but directing the question more to his Pokemon.

"Bulba?" Bulbasaur seemed to ask uneasily. Serena had quickly picked up on the fact that he was one of Ash's more battle-hungry Pokemon, as he had clearly not been excited about sitting in a classroom for over an hour.

"Snivey-snive," Snivy said quickly, shaking her head, while Pikachu nodded his agreement. Clearly the incident with the ointment up Bulbasaur's nose, and their love of battling had them wary of this proposal.

"Geez, just a joke," Ash muttered, shoulders sagging a bit as he looked away from his Pokemon. "Whatever, I guess battling is our thing, anyways," he said, turning back and smiling. "I can't wait for the weekend so we can really get back into it."

Marie leaned forward in her seat, looking at Serena and Ash in excitement. "Do you two have any plans for what you're gonna do for the tryouts?" she asked, clearly interested as she would be unable to participate herself.

"I'm gonna just do the same thing as usual. Battle to the best of my abilities and see where it takes me." Ash told her proudly, looking up with a somewhat cocky expression.

Marie raised an eyebrow at that, smirking at Ash's answer. "I know you do some weird stuff when you battle, but don't you ever have at least some kind of plan when you're going into one? At least for something like this that's set up like a tournament?"

"Uh...yeah, sometimes I do. It's kind of hard to plan things out for a battle, though. They can be pretty unpredictable, so just going with whatever comes is sometimes the way to go." Ash shrugged, looking at his three Pokemon as he spoke. "Hard work and trusting each other is what pays off, right guys?" Bulbasaur, Pikachu and Snivy all nodded, looking quite pleased with Ash's words. Serena was amazed at how they all seemed so much like him, even though they still had their unique personalities.

"And what about you, Serena?" Marie then asked, looking at the Performer curiously. "Do you have any routines set up for your performance, or any recipes planned for the baking contest? How does that even work?"

Serena paused, not really sure how to answer. Sure, she'd been practising her routines, and knew recipes for things like pokepuffs, but she didn't really have a set plan for how she was going to approach the tryouts. "Um...I guess like Ash, I'll depend on hard work and trust to get the job done," Serena said awkwardly. "I've got some routines prepared, but I guess it depends on the situation for which one I'll use and which Pokemon I'll use."

"Why not the routine you were doing the other day?" Ash asked, looking confused. "That one looked awesome."

Serena shrugged, smiling at the compliment, but still not sure about how she'd deal with her performance for the tryouts. "It depends on how many Pokemon I can use for the performance and how they'll be used for the other competitions. It's...a bit more complicated than some people might think it is.

"Yeah...I don't think I could ever do that kind of thing," Ash said jokingly. "It should be cool to see you and Shauna perform, though. I bet you two will win for sure."

"It won't be easy," Serena said seriously, more so to herself than to Ash and Marie. "Shauna and I might have made it far in the last Masterclass, but there are people here who have had a lot of success before. I know it's going to be really tough. And Shauna and I are going for just two spots."

"These teams had better be good," Marie muttered, clenching her fist and lightly hitting the table with it. "If only seven people make it onto them, the trainers have to be the very best."

Ash nodded, holding up a fist and looking confident. "Of course we'll be the very best and of course we'll make it onto those teams. We can't go in there expecting to lose, so we'll go in there, ready to win and work hard doing it."

"Hopefully we don't get too much homework this weekend," Serena joked, although with the pace picking up on classes this week, it was hard to look at it that way. Reggie was already talking about a big assignment for Breeding class next week, and they were already busy with practising Nurse Joy's various healing methods. The other classes were likely to have more to do as well.

"Don't you have a big assignment that you're getting today, Ash?" Marie asked, looking over to the raven-haired trainer.

Ash's eyes immediately lit up, and Serena could feel the excitement emanating from him. "Yeah, I get a new Pokemon in my Levels and Experience class. I don't know who it'll be, but I can't wait to see what I get. Who would've thought that training a Pokemon would be a homework assignment? That's exactly the kind of thing I love to do."

"Isn't the point that you're training a weaker Pokemon and using what you learn in class to adjust to its weaknesses?" Marie asked, looking sceptical of Ash's confidence.

"That's not gonna be a problem," Ash said seriously. "Did you see my Noivern battling in the Kalos League?"

"Yeah, he was pretty cool, but Noivern's not a weak starter Pokemon," Marie pointed out, looking at Serena as if she thought Ash was crazy.

Serena had a feeling Ash was making a point, though, and shrugged as Marie looked at her. "Maybe Noivern wasn't always like that," she suggested, looking at Ash.

"Exactly," Ash said, nodding. "Noivern was a baby Noibat not too long after I got my sixth Gym Badge. I didn't have too long to train him before making it to the Kalos League, but by the time we got there, he was a powerful Noivern."

"Well...he didn't win any battles," Marie muttered, before her eyes suddenly widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Sorry," she said in a muffled squeak.

Ash narrowed his eyes, a mix of irritation and amusement on his face. "How many baby Pokemon are capable of drawing with a Salamence?" he asked, watching Marie closely.

"I never would've guessed that Noivern hadn't been trained for very long," Serena chimed in, deciding to rescue Marie from Ash's somewhat wounded pride. "He might not have won individually, but he was an important part of your team, for sure."

"Yeah, for sure," Ash agreed, looking happy that Serena seemed to understand. "And he and Hawlucha are best friends. That's why Hawlucha was so motivated when he was battling Alain's Weavile at the Kalos League."

"So basically, Marie," Serena said, turning to the aspiring Nurse Joy, "a Pokemon can grow a lot in a short amount of time."

"And whatever Pokemon I get, is going to be awesome," Ash stated confidently.

* * *

Ash was very fidgety as he listened to Yuzo lecture about what Pokemon evolve when they reach certain levels and ow much experience they may need to do so. None of that really mattered to him if he was being honest. All he knew, when it came to that, was that if you worked hard with your Pokemon, eventually they would evolve, if they wanted to. Even then, some Pokemon were capable of evolving and didn't want to, but still remained quite strong. Pikachu was a perfect example that evolution wasn't necessary to be strong.

The lack of interest in the topic of the lecture wasn't helping Ash hold his excitement in check. He felt as if Yuzo was taunting the class with all of the pokeballs lined up on the desks behind him. Clemont and Trevor had mentioned feeling frustrated near the end of their class as well, but had admitted that the wait was probably worth it. Ash had practically begged for them to show him the Pokemon that they'd got, but neither had done so, saying that it would be better if they could introduce all the new Pokemon to each other at once.

It wasn't just, Ash who was anxiously waiting, though. Tierno was here as well, after having been invited to this class with a few other students who had this class scheduled for tomorrow. They would be having a makeup class for the Abilities class that he was missing for this one. "I can already tell that there's a Pokemon that can move and groove," he whispered to Ash. "I can just feel it."

"Uh...right," Ash said, glancing at Tierno to see if he was joking, and then looking back towards Yuzo. "Hopefully it doesn't lose its rhythm while we wait.

"I think _I've_ lost my rhythm while we've been waiting," Tierno complained, looking at the lined up pokeballs with longing. "I hope this is worth changing classes for the day."

"It'll be worth it," Ash assured his friend. "Clemont and Trevor said it was pretty tough waiting, but the two of them seemed pretty happy with the Pokemon that they got, so I think it'll work out for us in the end.

The two of them continued to wait in pained silence as Yuzo continued his lecture, and then finally, with about twenty minutes remaining, he wrapped it up, clearly noticing that many students were anxiously waiting for their Pokemon. He then discussed how things would proceed, stressing that it was important for the Pokemon to select their new trainers, rather than the other way around, something that Ash probably preferred, as he had no idea if he'd be able to choose himself.

When Yuzo put up the picture that displayed all of the Pokemon that would be available, Ash noticed what Clemont had warned him about prior to the class. Two of the three Pokemon from the Alola region would be unavailable, and only one Rowlet would be there. Yuzo asked for patience and understanding in this matter, and again stressed that it would be important for Rowlet to select its own trainer. Luckily, people seemed to understand, and then finally, Yuzo approached the pokeballs, ready to release the Pokemon.

As soon as the Pokemon began to appear from their pokeballs, Ash and Tierno could see that even if they wanted to head towards the front of the class, they wouldn't be able to. With not only the many students from the original class, but the additional students from Tierno's, there was a massive crowd on each side of the class, where students were rushing forward to meet the Pokemon, who were very cautious about approaching with so many being a little too eager.

"Why are they so crazy?" Tierno asked, looking at their classmates down below. "They're all Pokemon trainers, so it's not like they haven't seen Pokemon before."

Ash shrugged, shaking his head as he watched. "I guess they're even more excited than we are," he suggested, although he didn't see how this was necessary if someone was excited. "I just hope the Pokemon are able to handle it. It's probably a little intimidating. I wonder if-"

Ash stopped talking immediately when he felt something land on his head, and noticed Tierno staring at whatever it was with wide eyes. For a moment, he thought it was Pikachu, but then Ash could see that the electric mouse was sitting comfortably in the seat next to him, also staring at whatever was on Ash's head.

"Hoo-hoo," it hooted from Ash's head. "Hoo-hoo."

"Um...Tierno...what's on my head?" Ash asked, eyes wide. He probably should have known, but he couldn't think straight with something unfamiliar sitting on his head. "Is it one of the Pokemon?"

Tierno nodded, and then slowly, he started smiling. "Ash, you're so lucky!"

"Huh? Why?" Ash tried to look up, but the brim of his hat was blocking his view of the Pokemon on his head. Finally, after a few more hoots and a couple more failed glances upwards, the weight on Ash's head disappeared, and then a moment later, something shot down towards Ash's backpack which was on the ground in front of him. The shape seemed to disappear within the backpack for a moment, and then suddenly, a head popped out, looking completely comfortable and content, sitting in the backpack. "Hey...is that...?"

Ash quickly pulled out his PokeDex, hardly believing what was happening in the moment. Tierno was right. He was pretty lucky if this meant what he thought it meant. As he scanned Rowlet with the PokeDex, Ash saw it open its eyes and stare up at him with interest. It immediately reminded Ash of his Noctowl, with how its head tilted and the little "hoos" coming from its beak.

"So you're a grass and flying type Pokemon, huh?" Ash asked, glancing at the information displayed on the PokeDex. "And you're from the...Alola region. Interesting...I've never been there before. I bet there are lots of awesome Pokemon like you there. I'd love to see it at some point."

"Hoo," Rowlet cooed, seemingly nodding a little bit, as though that idea appealed to it. Ash wondered if it was saying that it wanted to go back to Alola at some point.

"Wow, so it looks like Rowlet managed to find someone it likes," a voice said from Ash's right, and he turned to see Yuzo next to their row of seats. "I was a little worried about how it would all go with Rowlet, but I think most would agree that you are the perfect trainer for it, Ash. What do you think?" he asked, pulling out a pokeball, which Ash assumed was Rowlet's. "Would you like to work with Rowlet?"

"I'd love to!" Ash exclaimed, turning back to the Grass Quill Pokemon. "I've never seen a Pokemon from the Alola region before. This would be an awesome opportunity for me. And Rowlet seems really cool. What do you think, Rowlet? Wanna come along with me? I'll make sure that backpack is nice and cozy for you."

"Hoo-hoo!" Rowlet cried out happily, squirming out of the backpack, flapping its wings, and then landing on Ash's shoulder. Pikachu quickly hopped up onto Ash's other shoulder, greeting their new partner immediately.

"Well, looks like that's settled then," Yuzo said with a laugh, before walking over and handing Rowlet's pokeball to Ash. "This will be a bit of a tough one, Ash. Rowlet can be very energetic, but it can also be, um, well it can be a bit sleepy." He then pointed to Ash's shoulder and Ash noticed that his newest Pokemon was drifting off, head bowed as it started to sleep on his shoulder.

"Nothing I like better than a challenge," Ash said confidently. "Besides, everyone needs a nap from time to time." He then carefully picked up Rowlet from his shoulder, knelt down to his backpack, and gently placed it inside. "There, now you can be nice and comfortable." He noticed Rowlet's eyes open up slightly, before they shut again and it continued to sleep.

Once Yuzo had walked away to hand off pokeballs to some other students, Ash turned to see Tierno staring around with a hint of panic on his face. "What do I do, Ash?" he asked worriedly. "I don't have a Pokemon yet."

"Don't worry," Ash assured him, "it looks like a lot of people don't have one yet. "Just be patient and there will be one that likes you."

For a few minutes, the two of them waited, and Ash couldn't help but notice that the class was getting smaller and smaller as students were partnered up with their new Pokemon. Tierno was becoming increasingly agitated, eventually leaving his seat and joining the now smaller group near the front row of the class. Meanwhile, Ash surveyed the room to see if there were any Pokemon he could find that might suit Tierno.

After another few minutes, and a few more departures, Ash could see that Tierno, and the few other students that hadn't been paired yet, were looking pretty anxious. Then, finally, a couple of students at one side of the class suddenly called out excitedly. "Wow! Look at this Chimchar!" she shouted.

Ash looked over to see what the commotion was about, not expecting something that would help Tierno, but then, what he saw, made him realize he'd just found the perfect Pokemon for his friend. "Tierno!" he shouted, getting the attention of the dancing enthusiast. "Look at this," Ash called out, pointing over to the Chimchar that a few people were now watching.

When Tierno saw what Ash was pointing at, his jaw dropped, and he quickly began to make his way over, looking extremely excited. As Tierno was approaching, Ash turned back and watched this now popular Chimchar, as it performed in front of its small audience.

The Chimchar had, in Tierno's words, the ability to "move and groove" and if Ash didn't know that Tierno and Chimchar had never met, he would've assumed that they'd been partners for years. Chimchar was doing flawless pirouettes and head spins and little jumps. It was actually quite graceful as it did so, and Ash tried to imagine his Infernape doing something similar as a Chimchar and laughed at the thought.

When Tierno had finally reached the small group now around Chimchar, Ash could see his instincts kicking in. The dancing enthusiast took another step forward, and suddenly, he was dancing away, doing his best to copy Chimchar's movements. It was a little sloppy at first, but after a couple of minutes, Tierno was moving along with Chimchar as though the two of them had practised this routine over and over again.

Once Chimchar had noticed what Tierno was doing it picked up its pace, as if it was testing the dancing trainer in front of it. Ash was sure that Tierno was passing this test, though, as he managed to go at whatever pace Chimchar wanted, and moved in perfect sync with the Sinnoh fire type. For a couple more minutes, the two of them continued to dance, their movements quick and in perfect sync, and by the end of it, Ash could see that there was no doubt about who Chimchar would be going with.

"Chim-chim-char!" Chimchar squeaked out happily as their dance ended, and it ran up to stand in front of Tierno. It gave a small bow to him, and then looked up with shining eyes as Tierno returned the bow, looking quite ecstatic himself.

"Hi there Chimchar," Tierno finall greeted. "It looks like you've got some great rhythm. You know, I train all my Pokemon with dancing and we all really love it. Do you think you'd like to give it a shot and join our dancing team?"

"Chim-chimchar!" Chimchar shouted, nodding excitedly.

As Yuzu went over to check out the new matchup, Ash looked up at Pikachu on his shoulder, and then glanced back at his backpack, hearing the soft snore of Rowlet, who sat comfortably in there. It was definitely not the most normal way to catch a new Pokemon, but if the little display from Tierno and Chimchar showed anything, how you caught a Pokemon mattered very little, as long as the Pokemon and trainer were excited about their future together.

* * *

The whole group was waiting patiently, well somewhat patiently, for Ash and Tierno to meet up with them for lunch. They'd planned to pack up sandwiches and then head over to the training facilities to meet the new Pokemon that Ash, Tierno, Trevor and Clemont were receiving from their Levels and Experience class. They'd been pestering Clemont and Trevor to show them their new Pokemon while waiting, but the two of them were sticking to their promise to wait for Ash and Tierno.

While they waited, Dawn and Serena were explaining to Marie how Contests and Performances worked. She was clearly more interested in standard battling, but she still seemed pretty curious about the different paths trainers could take. It was also pretty interesting for Dawn, as she was able to hear about Performances in more detail. She really wanted to see what all the hype for this Kalos Queen Aria was about. Of course, with what Shauna, Trevor and Tierno had mentioned, Serena was close to that level as well, although she continued to act humble about it, calling it "beginner's luck" a couple of times.

"That's not beginner's luck," Marie said, when Serena finished talking about her Masterclass Showcase. "Beginner's luck would be winning your first Showcase. You made it all the way to the final round in the biggest Performance competition in Kalos. That's talent and hard work."

"Yeah, and if you ask me, Serena should be Kalos Queen right now," Shauna added, sounding just a little bit bitter about her friend's loss. "Aria was good, of course, but Serena should've won."

Serena was looking a little embarrassed by all this, and quickly waved her hands, gesturing for them to stop. "No, Aria deserved it. Besides, if I'd won, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to come here. There's a bit more to performing than wanting to be Kalos Queen."

"Yeah, I think I get what you mean by that," Dawn chimed in, nodding in understanding. "Now that I'm here, I kind of feel like my past losses took me down a better path. I wouldn't have met Ash and Professor Oak, and then I wouldn't have come here. Already I feel like I'm learning so much more, just by being around so many people who have had so many different experiences.

"Losing stinks at the time, but I think it's helped a lot of us find a better path for our journeys," Trevor said, walking over with Clemont and joining the conversation. "I felt kind of lost after losing at the Kalos League, but seeing Tierno work so hard to get to the quarterfinals and then seeing Ash and Alain, I knew I had to keep at it. And now I'm here and things are going great so far."

"And they'll only get better," Dawn cheered confidently. "We have to make sure we make it onto the IPL teams together. It'll be so much fun. Imagine it...Lumiose Luxrays, the Kalos IPL Champions!"

"These tryouts aren't going to be easy, though," Serena warned, taking a deep breath. "There aren't many spots, and we're not the only trainers who have had success with battles, Contests and Showcases."

"Well it's a good thing we're the most determined then, right guys?" a familiar confident voice called out from behind Dawn. She turned, smiling as she saw Ash and Tierno walk up to their group, both looking quite pleased, clearly happy with the Pokemon they'd received in their class, although, Dawn was sure they'd be happy no matter what. At least Ash would be.

"Hey guys," Trevor greeted, quickly followed by the others. When everyone finished, the orange-haired trainer quickly pulled out a pokeball, his excitement clearly too much to control by now. "Well, I guess I'll show everyone my new Pokemon first, now that Ash and Tierno are here." The group excitedly murmured their agreement, and watched closely as Trevor clicked open the pokeball.

After a bright flash of light, Dawn looked at the Pokemon that had emerged, and quickly recognized it as a Mudkip. "Wow, you got a Mudkip!" she exclaimed, smiling at the slightly nervous looking Pokemon. "Aw, it's so cute."

"Mudkip, huh?" Tierno said, walking up and looking at it with interest. "Awesome! If we ever have a tag team battle, it'll be an awesome partner for Blastoise."

"That'd be awesome!" Trevor said happily, giving his friend a fist bump and then looking at Mudkip. "How does that sound, Mudkip?"

"Mudkip-mud!" the Mud Fish Pokemon agreed happily, now looking a bit more comfortable, understanding it was among friends.

Tierno then pulled out his pokeball, ready to show off his new Pokemon. "All right, guys, ready to meet the next great dancing Pokemon?"

"What? This Pokemon can dance?" Dawn asked, a little doubtfully. There was no way Tierno had gotten that lucky.

The dancing enthusiast just winked and then clicked his pokeball open. A moment later, a Pokemon that Dawn was fairly familiar with emerged. Before anyone could say anything, the fire-monkey exchanged a look with Tierno, and then the two of them began to dance. It was bizarre looking, but it was often somewhat bizarre when Tierno did this. However, Dawn couldn't help but be impressed. These two already had what Tierno would call, "perfect rhythm".

"Wow, you really lucked out, Tierno," Shauna said, laughing as Tierno and Chimchar finished up. "Chimchar's great!"

"Hey Ash, you have an Infernape," Clemont said, looking over to the raven-haired trainer. "Does it like to dance?"

Ash laughed, rubbing his chin as he seemed to think about it. "Um...well not anymore, but I guess he did do a few victory dances as a Chimchar. I think Tierno's is pretty unique, though."

"You can say that again," Marie whispered, watching as Chimchar began dancing once again. Within a couple of seconds, Mudkip had joined it, standing up on its back legs and trying to imitate the fire type.

"Just like their trainers," Tierno said, laughing. "Best buddies already."

After a couple of minutes of watching the dancing duo of Mudkip and Chimchar, Clemont then stepped forward, holding his pokeball in his hand. Dawn noticed that he looked slightly uneasy. "Um, just a warning, guys," he said, staring at his pokeball cautiously. "This Pokemon...well it's a little...hard to handle."

"It'll be fine, Clemont," Ash said confidently, taking a seat next to Dawn and opening up his backpack. He seemed to be hiding it from view, but then the only thing he pulled out was a sandwich. "All right, let's see what you've got," he finished, opening up the wrapping and preparing to take a bite.

"Okay..." Clemont muttered, clicking open his pokeball. Again, there was a bright flash of light, hiding the new Pokemon for a moment. However, Dawn did hear a thud almost immediately after the flash, and thought she heard Ash cry out in surprise.

When the light disappeared, Dawn looked up to see Clemont staring ahead, looking horrified at whatever he was watching, which was apparently right next to her. She turned her head, and immediately could see why, although she reacted very differently to Clemont, and instead burst out laughing, quickly joined by the rest of her friends.

It was a three-way tug of war over Ash's sandwich, as he, Pikachu, and Clemont's brand new Pokemon each had hold of one piece of it. The new Pokemon was another familiar one to Dawn, being the grass type Sinnoh starter, Turtwig. This one was definitely a unique one, though, as it was dead set on getting Ash's food, while most Turtwig that Dawn had seen, were far more...calm.

"Hey! Gimme that back!" Ash growled, tugging hard as he tried to get his food back.

"Piii," Pikachu groaned out, his voice muffled by the piece of sandwich wrapper he'd grabbed onto.

"Twiiig," Turtwig growled back at the both of them, clearly refusing to give in.

Dawn thought she saw another flash of light out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it for now, the scene in front of her being far too amusing to turn away from. She couldn't believe such a laid back guy would get a Pokemon like this. They seemed like complete opposites. As Clemont joined in the tug of war battle, it didn't even seem like Turtwig liked him, as it hit Clemont in the face with a Leech Seed attack.

"Ahh! Turtwig!" the inventor whined, falling down on his back, grabbing at the vines covering his face.

It seemed that Turtwig's successful attack on its new trainer had inspired it, as it suddenly fired out two more Leech Seed attacks in quick succession, first hitting Ash, and then Pikachu. As both were struck, they too fell flat on their backs, vines taking hold of them. This left a very triumphant looking Turtwig with Ash's whole sandwich in its mouth.

"Aw man," Ash whined, as he managed to finally get the vines off of himself and then started taking them off of Pikachu. "That sandwich looked really good," he muttered, glaring over towards Turtwig, who'd wandered off a few feet away, and was now munching on its prize.

"Sorry, Ash," Clemont said, sounding exasperated as he managed to get his own vines off. "I'd give you mine, but Turtwig stole it earlier."

"That's one hungry Pokemon," Marie laughed as she stated the obvious.

"Yeah, a hungry, thieving Pokemon," Ash muttered, pouting a little.

"It's all right, Ash," Serena suddenly said, pulling out her bag. "You can have my sandwich. And I also baked us all some macarons." She seemed to search through her bag for a while, eyebrows furrowed as she did so. "Um...maybe I forgot them," she whispered.

In that moment, a loud belch was heard just behind Dawn, and she, along with the rest of the group, whipped around to see where the noise had come from. There was another groan from Clemont as they all saw the culprit. This time, however, it wasn't Turtwig.

"Pin-pin-ches," Clemont's Chespin choked out, mouth still full. He looked a little embarrassed at being caught, but was clearly quite happy to stuff the rest of Serena's sandwich in his mouth, followed by a few macarons from a small basket.

"Twig..." Dawn turned her head at that noise, seeing Turtwig, now holding half a sandwich in its mouth, approaching Chespin. The two watched each other warily as Turtwig approached, but Dawn could almost see the twinkle in their eyes as they sensed a kindred spirit in one another. Turtwig then placed its sandwich in front of Chespin, almost like an offering.

Chespin watched the other Pokemon a moment, looking somewhat impressed. He then took a big gulp, swallowing the rest of his food, and then held out the basket of macarons to Turtwig, who happily accepted. The Spiny Nut Pokemon then picked up the rest of Ash's sandwich and deposited it into his mouth and swallowed it whole, before falling onto his butt and sitting their with a content smile on his face, while his new partner in crime began to not only eat the rest of Serena's macarons, but the basket and wrapping that they were in.

"Well," Dawn said finally, after about a full minute of stunned silence from the group, "that was...interesting."

"At least they're getting along," Shauna pointed out, as everyone turned to the embarrassed looking Clemont. "You can be happy about that."

"Yeah," Clemont said dejectedly, "my thieving Pokemon get along. Good."

"It's all right, Clemont," Ash said, although Dawn noticed he couldn't resist a glare towards Turtwig and Chespin. "You'll figure it out."

"Yeah, I guess so. Eventually," Clemont answered with a small nod.

"Hey what about your Pokemon, Ash?" Dawn asked, only just remembering that Ash hadn't shown his to the group yet.

Ash quickly got up and headed over to his backpack which he'd left as he'd battled for his sandwich. "My new Pokemon's right here," he announced, holding his backpack and opening it up fully. "Meet Rowlet everybody."

"Is Rowlet a backpack Pokemon?" Marie asked sarcastically, pointing at what appeared to be an empty bag.

"Huh?" Ash turned the backpack around, looking inside, and his eyes immediately widened. "Rowlet?" He started staring around with wide eyes. "Rowlet!?" he called out, sounding very worried.

"Um, Ash?" Serena asked quickly, getting his attention. When he looked at her, she pointed in the direction of Chespin and Turtwig. "Is Rowlet a flying type?"

Everyone turned to see what Serena was talking about, and when Dawn saw, her eyes widened. She could see a small owl-like Pokemon hovering over the sleepy looking Chespin and distracted Turtwig. Its eyes were narrowed, looking quite determined. With a sudden flap of its wings, it dove down, grasping at the basket that Turtwig was chewing on, and pulling it up with its claws. It then flew high into the air, avoiding a quick Leech Seed from Turtwig, and then began to fly back over towards the group.

"Hoo-hoo!" it hooted, as it approached, before hovering in front of Serena and dropping the basket in her hands. It then flew back over to Ash, tilted its head at its new trainer, and then dove into the backpack. It seemed to rapidly shift around in there, until suddenly its head popped out of the top, eyes closed as it drifted off to sleep.

"Um...yeah, so that's Rowlet," Ash said, as everyone stared blankly at the sleeping owl Pokemon.

 _What is up with these Pokemon?_ Dawn thought, as she looked at the now passed out Chespin, angry Turtwig, dancing Chimchar and Mudkip duo and finally the sleeping backpack Rowlet. _And I thought Piplup acted strange..._

 **Author's Note:**

All right, we've got some new members now. Obviously Rowlet was, well, inspired by Ash getting Rowlet. And I wanted to make it so only he received an Alola Pokemon. We'll see how that might lead to some things later on. Mudkip just seemed like a good fit for Trevor, simple as that. And Chimchar seemed like a good Pokemon for dancing, for Tierno. And I thought it would be good to give Chespin a partner in crime, and Turtwig seemed like an interesting Pokemon to give a big appetite to.

Oh, and Tierno swapping a class was just temporary. Kind of weird, but sometimes people will actually do that. Probably should've just had him in Ash's class the whole time, but I think it would've messed with some of my schedule planning. That was a pain in the you know what. Never mind that, though.

Obviously going down the route of giving new Pokemon to some of these characters might be a bit...fanfictiony. But, we do need to remember that it's a new adventure, set after their journeys in Kalos. It only makes sense for them to get new Pokemon, right? And these may have happened kind of fast, but of course, the training will be the main thing. Let me know if you liked the choices.

So, next chapter will be the beginning of the tryouts. I am definitely looking forward to that. Shouldn't be too long before that's out. See you then.


	14. Tryouts

**Author's Note:**

Wow, a nice long chapter here, huh? I hope it's good. I didn't want to drag out these tryouts too long, so we won't be seeing everything, but the good stuff will of course be there. So, without further ado, I present to you, chapter 14.

 **Chapter 14: Tryouts**

"Turtwig! Not my glasses! No! Give those back!" Ash couldn't help but turn around distractedly as he heard Clemont's yells. He and his friends watched with a mixture of amusement and pity as the inventor chased his grass type around the lobby of the training facilities. He was never very fast, and it showed here, as Turtwig stayed well ahead of him, his trainer's glasses resting in his jaws. He didn't look like he was going to eat them, but more like he was enjoying his trainer's reaction.

"Shouldn't you do something about that, Ash?" a voice asked from the video phone that Ash was sitting in front of. "It looks like that Turtwig is quite the handful for Clemont, there."

Ash shook his head, turning back to the monitor, which showed Professor Oak's concerned face. He gave a quick laugh, giving one last glance towards Clemont, before bringing his full attention to Professor Oak. "They just need more time together," Ash said, shrugging and looking at Serena and Dawn who were standing behind him. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah, Clemont's a hard worker," Serena agreed with a small nod. "He and Turtwig will be fine. But this is part of the reason why Ash called, isn't it?"

"Oh, right," Ash said, shaking his head a little as he turned back to the monitor. "Yeah, the tryouts for the Interschool Pokemon League start tomorrow, Professor. I was thinking I'd like to get a team together for training, and there are a couple of Pokemon that might be able to help not only me, but Clemont and Tierno as well."

Professor Oak nodded, almost like he was expecting this. "Let me guess," he said, smiling, "you'd like me to send Torterra? I'm sure Clemont's Turtwig will be quite impressed with him."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Ash said, leaning forward with excitement. "And let's see...from what I was told, it'll be two groups of six trainers. Not many people are trying out. Rowlet's too young to battle, so I'll need two others. How about Infernape and Hawlucha?"

"All right, I'll get them all set up, then. Just give me a few minutes to get them ready," Oak said, standing up.

Ash nodded, and watched as the Pokemon Researcher walked away from the video phone, picking up three pokeballs from a shelf which had Ash's name above it. Once Professor Oak was gone, Ash turned to Serena and Dawn, noticing that Clemont was now gone from the lobby. "I hope Torterra can help out Clemont with his Turtwig. I like to eat, but that thing really takes eating to an entirely new level."

"I think you should be more worried about your training," Dawn said, taking a seat at an empty video phone. "There might not be many people trying out, but those who are, clearly think they have a plan to beat you, Clemont and Trevor."

"A plan to beat _us_?" Ash asked, looking at Serena in confusion, as if she'd have an answer.

Apparently she did, as she giggled a little at Ash's confusion. "Don't you get it?" she asked, exchanging an amused look with Dawn. "You three are the trainers to beat. You're the Kalos League finalist, Clemont's one of the best gym leaders, and Trevor has a Mega Charizard, and proved at the screening tests that he just had bad luck at the Kalos League."

"Wait...is that why so few people are trying out? They're _scared_?" Ash asked, feeling a bit irritated at the thought. He would never back down from battling someone who might be better than him just for fear of losing. He didn't like that others would back down from battling him just because of his success.

"It's still going to be tough for you, Ash, don't worry," Dawn told him seriously. "Five battles in one day. That's going to be tough. And there's a good chance you battle Clemont or Trevor. Maybe even both."

"Wait...what about Tierno?" Ash asked, although he kind of expected what he was up to.

"He's...got other plans," Dawn answered, raising an eyebrow like she expected Ash to know. "They should be here by now, shouldn't they?" she suddenly asked, looking towards the doors at the entrance. "Tierno said Professor Sycamore told him it wouldn't take long."

Ash was about to ask what that was about, as he was clearly left out of the loop on something when it came to Tierno, but just then, he heard Professor Oak making his way back into the lab from the video phone, and a moment later, the old Pokemon Professor was in front of the screen, three pokeballs in his hands.

"Here they are, Ash," Oak announced, smiling as he held up the pokeballs. "They're all very excited to see you again. I think Hawlucha in particular wants to get into a good battle. He's been quite...um...restless since you left. He's become the official Tauros herder, but sometimes he pushes himself a little far."

Ash chuckled, a little embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, Hawlucha loves a good battle. Hopefully he'll get some of that out of his system with a good battle tomorrow and some hard training today."

With that, Professor Oak deposited the pokeballs into the transfer machine and Ash waited patiently as the transfer was going through. A few moments later, and the three pokeballs appeared on a tray to the right of the video monitor, and Ash quickly reached for them, picking them up.

"They're all here!" Ash said happily, holding up the pokeballs to the screen so Professor Oak could see that it had gone through successfully. "Thanks Professor Oak. I'll call you tomorrow if I need to make any other changes."

"Sounds good, Ash," Professor Oak told him, nodding. "And one more thing." Ash looked up at the screen, squinting a little in confusion, wondering what Oak needed to tell him. "Go get 'em, Ash. Show everyone what a Pallet Town trainer can do!" He finished with an awkward fist pump, and then ended the call with one last wave.

As Ash was clipping his three pokeballs onto his belt, he heard some voices behind him, and turned to see Tierno, Shauna, Trevor, Marie and Clemont making their way through the doors at the entrance. Clemont had his glasses on and a pokeball in his hand, obviously having returned Turtwig to get his glasses back. Tierno, meanwhile, looked much happier, dancing along as he walked, clearly in a good mood.

"What's up, guys?" Trevor asked, as the five of them walked over to where Ash, Serena and Dawn were. "Did you get your Pokemon from Professor Oak, Ash?"

"Yeah, they're right here," Ash said, patting the pokeballs at his belt. "How about I introduce them to everyone?" He took a little glance at his backpack to see if Rowlet was awake, but he didn't see any movement, and instead moved his gaze to Pikachu. "Like that idea, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed. As always, he was excited to see some of his old friends again.

The group of eight quickly made their way into the battlefield area and immediately spotted a rock field that was empty and led the way over to it. As he made is way onto the field, he noticed his friends staying back, waiting, but signalled for them to come up as well, wanting them to properly meet his Pokemon. When they were all ready, Ash, gathered up his four pokeballs and quickly tossed them into the air, five lights flashing as they opened up. Pikachu hopped down to stand with Greninja on Ash's left, as the three that had just arrived stood to the right.

Immediately, Ash was tackled by both Hawlucha and Infernape in a hug and then once the two of them had finished, Torterra thrust his large head forward, nuzzling Ash's face awkwardly. Once they were done, Ash stepped back, smiling at the sight of his assembled tryout team.

First, there was Infernape, an ape-like Pokemon with a flaming mane on his head, and reddish-brown fur on his arms, legs and tail, along with white on his chest. Then there was Hawlucha, the hawk-like Pokemon with a green mask-like face, red and green cape-like wings, and a white chest and legs. And finally, there was Torterra, a massive tortoise-like Pokemon with a large shell on his back, with spikes and an oak tree extending out of it. The three recently arrived Pokemon, along with Pikachu and Greninja, all looked more than ready to get into some training.

"All right, guys," Ash said to his Pokemon, turning around and facing his friends, "I'd like you all to meet my new friends here at Lumiose University. Obviously you already know Dawn, but I'd like you to also meet Serena, Clemont, Tierno, Trevor, Shauna and Marie." Ash's friends all called out their greetings, while the Pokemon did the same. Ash then pulled off his backpack and gently placed it down, before carefully picking Rowlet up from inside it. Rowlet didn't wake up, but Ash held him up anyways. "And this is Rowlet," he announced to his Pokemon. "Um...he likes to sleep, but-"

"Hoo!" Suddenly Rowlet's wings flapped hard, and he shot out of Ash's hands. Ash looked up, worried that he'd scared off his newest Pokemon and would have to go searching for him, but was relieved to see that Rowlet was just hovering above the group. "Hoo-hoo?" Rowlet called out, tilting its head as it stared at Ash and then the gathered Pokemon.

"Uh...sorry Rowlet," Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I just wanted to introduce you to some of my other Pokemon." He then gestured to Infernape, Hawlucha and Torterra. "I think you'll be able to learn a lot from these three." A thought then occurred to Ash, and he turned his gaze to Hawlucha, who was watching Rowlet with interest. "Hawlucha, maybe you can help teach Rowlet the same way you taught Noivern when he was a Noibat. What do you think?"

Hawlucha immediately nodded, posing proudly and then leaping into the air, gliding away, and then spinning back so that Rowlet could see his gliding skills. He landed softly on Torterra's back and bowed, before striking another pose.

"Haha! That was great, Hawlucha!" Tierno called out, clapping. "Ash, I bet Hawlucha would be a great dancing Pokemon if he learned some good dance moves to go along with those poses."

"Haw-lucha?" Hawlucha asked, looking at Tierno, and then at Ash, clearly uninterested in the idea of becoming a dancing Pokemon.

Ash was about to assure Hawlucha that dancing was likely not part of his plans, but just in that moment, Hawlucha was joined on Torterra's back by a very impressed looking Rowlet. "Hoo! Hoo!" Rowlet shouted, tilting his head as he looked up at Hawlucha in awe.

Ash decided to leave those two to get to know each other for a moment, and turned back to his friends, looking at Tierno and then Clemont. "So, I was thinking, why don't you guys bring out Chimchar and Turtwig? Maybe Infernape and Torterra can teach them a few things. They've got lots of experience and I'm sure they'd be happy to help." Ash took a quick glance back at the two of them, and saw them each nod, although Torterra looked a little distracted by Hawlucha posing for Rowlet from his back.

Tierno nodded immediately, pulling out a pokeball and calling out Chimchar immediately. After the quick flash of light, the little fire-monkey emerged and immediately began dancing. However, as soon as he saw Infernape behind Ash, he stopped, staring at his evolved counterpart in awe. "Chim-chim-char!" he shouted, before running up to Infernape and shouting out some more in excitement. Infernape looked a little uncomfortable, but continued to watch as Chimchar began demonstrating a dance for him.

Ash watched the two fire types a moment, and then looked over towards Clemont. "So Clemont, you gonna bring out Turtwig?"

"Um...yeah, I guess so," Clemont muttered, looking at the pokeball in his hand with doubtful eyes. He then looked over to Torterra, who was watching with interest. "Sorry if he's too much to handle, Torterra." He then clicked open the pokeball, and his gluttonous Pokemon emerged.

"TWIG!"

"Not again!" Clemont shouted, glasses off his face as he immediately began chasing after Turtwig again.

Ash watched the two for a few moments, before feeling the ground shake a bit, as Torterra's head appeared next to him. "Terra?" he asked, looking sideways at Ash, as though wondering if he was serious about having him teach this Turtwig anything.

"We'll just set a good example," Ash said confidently, turning to his powerful grass type. "How would you like to be my first Pokemon in tomorrow's tryouts?"

"Tor-torterra!" Torterra exclaimed happily, nodding in excitement.

"Awesome," Ash said, turning to his other Pokemon. "And I know you're all going to do great. We're not letting this opportunity slip away."

* * *

Clemont stared ahead at the registration building in front of their group, feeling both nervous and excited for the upcoming tryouts. He looked to his left, seeing Ash and Trevor also staring at the building, their thoughts clearly going through what might happen with these tryouts. Ash didn't exactly look nervous, but he definitely looked anxious to get moving. He'd been so fired up about battling since his and Serena's loss to Dawn and Tierno. He probably would've battled anyone if they challenged him in that moment. Trevor looked pretty motivated as well. He'd become well aware that he was looked at as a favourite to make the team after proving himself in his screening test, so Clemont could tell that the orange-haired trainer was desperate to not be looked at as a weaker trainer again.

"Are you guys nervous?" Serena asked, and Clemont looked up in surprise to see that she, Shauna, Tierno and Dawn were all up ahead of them, a few feet away from the doors.

"What? No, of course not, right guys?" Ash said confidently, looking at Trevor and then Clemont. "We're gonna make the team for sure! I know it for sure!" He then grabbed Trevor and Clemont each by the shoulder and pulled them along behind him. "Come on, let's go win some battles!"

As they made their way into the building, stopping in the lobby, Clemont and Trevor rubbing their shoulders a bit in discomfort, Clemont noticed Professor Sycamore making his way over from one of the desks set up in front of the battlefields. "Hello there," he greeted, coming to a stop in front of the group. "How are you all feeling about today's tryouts?"

"Great!" Ash said confidently, exchanging a nod with Pikachu. "We've been training really hard and I got my team all set up yesterday. We have five battles, right?"

"That's correct," Sycamore answered, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Two groups of six and you battle everyone in your group once. The three trainers with the best records will be selected for the team. A tie breaker battle may be necessary in the event of two trainers with the same record."

"That won't be a problem if I win 'em all," Ash told Sycamore proudly.

"I guess not," Sycamore said, amusement in his voice. "However, you, Clemont and Trevor are going to be divided into two groups. At least two of you will have to battle each other. Unfortunately that will make it tough for all of you to have a perfect record."

That seemed to make the whole group a little nervous, as Ash, Clemont and Trevor exchanged some awkward glances. "It's a good thing I'm trying out for coordinating, then, because then none of you would be getting a perfect record," Tierno chimed in, almost as though he was trying to break the tension.

"So you _are_ trying out for coordinating?" Ash asked, looking at the dancing enthusiast. "I thought you might."

"Yeah, Dawn's been teaching me a lot and it seems to fit my dancing style more than regular battling. It doesn't mean I'm gonna be easy to beat, though." He smirked, narrowing his eyes. "Remember, Dawn and I managed to beat you and Serena."

Clemont had the feeling that Tierno was kind of pushing it, as he noticed Ash's eye twitch a little. It was actually kind of scary. Luckily, though, Serena stepped in, gently pushing Ash away, and then gesturing for Clemont and Trevor to follow. "Why don't you guys get registered?" she said, continuing to push Ash away, as he looked like he was about to turn around and say something to Tierno. "Ash," she said sternly, giving him one last push and making him walk straight.

"All right, all right," Ash muttered, biting his lip and looking somewhat ashamed. "We'll get 'em next time, right Pikachu?"

"Pika-pikachu!" Pikachu answered affirmatively.

"I think you should focus on your battles for today," Serena suggested, exchanging an exasperated look with Trevor and Clemont before looking back at Ash.

As Ash and Serena continued to talk, walking ahead of Trevor and Clemont, Trevor walked next to Clemont, looking somewhat amused as he watched Ash and Serena up ahead of them. "I wonder why Serena's not worried about us, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Clemont asked, adjusting his glasses and looking at Trevor in confusion.

"Nothing," Trevor muttered, chuckling a little as he looked away.

Clemont was about to press him for more, but just then, he noticed that Ash and Serena had reached the registration desk, and Ash was waving for Clemont and Trevor to come over. When they got there, Ash immediately introduced himself to the assistant that was behind the desk. "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and this is Clemont the Lumiose Gym Leader and Trevor, a Kalos League participant. We've all signed up for the IPL tryouts."

"All right," the assistant said, smiling and then holding out her hand. "I'll just take your PokeDexes and get you all signed in. You're the last of the signed up participants to arrive, so after this, we can get the groupings all sorted out."

"Awesome!" Ash said, handing her his PokeDex and then turning to his friends. "I'm so psyched! Torterra really trained hard yesterday. I think he really wants to show Turtwig what some hard work can do. Are you gonna let him watch, Clemont?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Clemont said, handing over a Gym Leader ID card to the assistant as he didn't have a PokeDex. "I guess I did give him a big breakfast this morning. He _might_ not try to eat everything."

"I have some pokepuffs that might tide him over," Serena suggested, while the assistant finished up with Trevor's PokeDex. "I think it would be really good for Turtwig to learn from Torterra, Clemont. He's got a lot of energy, so I bet he could become a really great battler one day."

Clemont stared back at Serena, a little surprised by her words. "You're starting to sound like Ash," he joked, laughing a little.

"Is that a bad thing?" Ash asked, nudging Serena a bit, smirking at Clemont's remark.

Serena looked a little uncomfortable, but managed a small smile. "Um, no, I-"

"All right, you're all registered and ready to compete," the assistant suddenly said, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Professor Sycamore has a screen set up right over there, that will be organizing the groups and the matchups." She quickly pointed over to a spot in the middle of the lobby, where there was a massive gathering of students around a screen that Sycamore was standing next to. Clemont could see their other friends waiting for them there.

"What about Performance tryouts?" Ash asked, gesturing to Serena. "Serena and some of our other friends are trying out for the Performance team."

"Registration begins this afternoon for that," the assistant answered, smiling at Serena. "Theme performances will be this afternoon and then Freestyle performances and Contest battles are tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck."

With that, the four of them began to make their way over towards where Sycamore was preparing to announce the groups and matchups for the tryout tournament. Clemont was starting to lose his nerves as he began to mentally prepare for his first battle, which could come at any time. He was now more excited than anything else. Like Ash, he'd assembled a team of five to take on this tournament, and had full confidence that they would, at the very least, give him a good chance to make the team. Bunnelby, Luxray and Heliolisk would be his go to Pokemon if he had to battle either Trevor or Ash, but he knew that Magneton or Chespin would be able to hold their own against the other opponents.

"Welcome, trainers and teachers!" Sycamore called out, as he began his little presentation. "Today is probably our most exciting day since the first day of classes. I hope all has gone well so far. Perhaps it has been a little bit stressful for some of you, with getting adjusted to the school life, but I think that today, Lumiose University will become much more exciting, even if you aren't trying out for the team. I know many of you decided not to try out, but hopefully you can still learn from the group of twelve that have decided to put their names forth to be a member of our three trainer battle team. Now, with that, I will turn it over to our two coaches, Flint, Sinnoh Elite Four member, and Agatha, Kanto Elite Four member."

Clemont was surprised as he saw the two Elite Four members seemingly appear out of nowhere next to Sycamore. He had to admit, though, as he saw them stand there, looking excited for the coming battles, that they definitely looked like trainers that he would love to learn from. He was glad, though not exactly surprised, that they were going to be coaching.

Flint was the first to speak up. "Welcome to the IPL tryouts everyone!" he shouted, eyes lighting up like the fire types he loved so much. "I'm excited to get things going, so I'll keep this brief. Agatha and I are looking forward to getting things going and coaching this team, but there are a couple of things we need to let you know before we get started. For me, it's simple. Hard work and a winning attitude. That's what I want out of the trainers on our team, so I expect you to show that today, no matter how things go."

"I expect the same things," Agatha announced, narrowing her eyes as she studied the gathered students. Her eyes rested on Clemont's group, and he knew that she was looking at Ash, but she also glanced at Trevor, and then Clemont. "I don't tolerate sore losers. If you have a rough go of it, you'd better damn well get right back up again and show you've got what it takes to bounce back. We're not just evaluating battle skills here, we're evaluating your skills as people. Flint, Augustine and I want a team that can make Lumiose University proud, so when you're on that battlefield today, I want you to show that you can do that, and if you can show that, you'll be one of the three, I can guarantee it."

"And with that, I think we can get things started," Sycamore announced, laughing a little nervously as Agatha seemed to watch the gathered students, as though picking out which ones would fail her standards. Clemont had the feeling she knew exactly who was going to make the team already.

"Agatha's awesome, isn't she?" Ash asked, as Sycamore turned to the screen and the images of the twelve competing trainers appeared on it. "She's definitely got the Kanto spirit."

Clemont probably wouldn't have phrased it that way, but he managed a weak smile and a nod to acknowledge Ash's words, and then looked back towards Professor Sycamore, who was now announcing that the groupings were being sorted. Clemont watched closely as the images of the twelve trainers all flipped backwards, the screen now showing twelve identical cards with pokeball designs on the back. Suddenly, they began shifting around rapidly, making it impossible to follow where each person's card had gone. Finally, the pictures stopped moving and organized into two rows of six, one next to the letter 'A' and one next to the letter 'B'. When the cards switched around, the groups were revealed, and Clemont immediately searched for his name, surprised, but also relieved to find where he was.

"So Clemont's in a separate group," Serena pointed out, in case nobody had spotted it. "Ash and Trevor, though..."

"Are going to have a great battle," Ash finished for her, turning to Trevor and holding out a hand. "Just because we're in the same group, doesn't mean we can't both make the team, so no matter what, we'll do our best. Deal?"

Clemont could see that Trevor wasn't too thrilled about this turn of events, but the orange-haired trainer fiddled with his camera around his neck, his finger resting on his Key Stone, and it seemed to settle his nerves a bit. "All right, Ash, you've got a deal," he finally managed to say, managing a decent amount of confidence in his voice. He shook Ash's hand and then they looked back over to the screen to see the schedule of the matches.

"Our first battle, in Group A, will be Ash versus Trevor!" Professor Sycamore announced, almost as though this was all somehow planned.

As the crowd of students began to murmur in excitement, hardly anybody hearing the announcement for the first battle of Group B, which luckily didn't include Clemont, Ash turned to the inventor, a serious look in his eyes. It somewhat surprised Clemont, so he backed up a bit. "Clemont," Ash whispered, pulling a pokeball from his belt and holding it up, "let Turtwig watch this battle."

Clemont looked back, a little uneasy, but then nodded, watching as Trevor stared at his Key Stone. He knew Ash had promised his Torterra the first battle in today's tryouts, and from the looks of things, Trevor would be going with his Charizard. Ash didn't seem to be backing down from the bad type matchup, though. "All right," Clemont finally said, "I'll make sure he watches."

"It'll be worth it," Ash said confidently, glancing back at Trevor before turning back. "I want Turtwig and Rowlet to see some awesome battles today, but this one might be more interesting for Turtwig."

Clemont nodded again, noticing that Trevor had called out his Mudkip, and was handing it over to Shauna so it could watch the match. A moment later, Ash seemed to decide the same thing. He pulled off his backpack, gently placed it down, and then carefully picked up his Rowlet, who was sleeping inside, as usual. Clemont thought Ash was about to hand the Grass Quill Pokemon to him, which he was a little nervous about, as he knew he'd be struggling to control Turtwig, but the raven-haired trainer instead turned towards Serena.

"Hey Serena, would you mind watching Rowlet for me?" he asked, holding his newest Pokemon up. It must have just woken up, as Clemont could see its head tilting, likely staring at Serena.

"Oh, sure," Serena said, reaching out and gently taking Rowlet in her hands. "Wow, Rowlet's so soft," she pointed out, gently petting his head, which he seemed to enjoy, as he nuzzled up against her, hooting softly.

"Yeah, maybe it's because he's been sleeping in my backpack ever since I got him," Ash said, laughing a little. "Hopefully he can stay awake for my battles, though. I'm hoping he can learn something."

"I'll make sure he stays awake. If Clemont's Turtwig doesn't eat all the pokepuffs I have, Rowlet can have something to eat while he watches." Serena held up Rowlet, turning him around so she could look at him. "Like the sound of that, Rowlet?"

"Hoo-hoo!"

"All right, then it's all settled," Ash said, shouldering his backpack and looking confidently at Pikachu. Clemont noticed that Trevor had already begun making his way towards the battlefield. "Time to go win a battle!"

* * *

"Aw man, this really stinks," Tierno complained, as their group of five sat in the front row of the battlefield. Dawn noted that it seemed to be the same spot where they'd all watched Ash's screening battle. "I hate that we have to watch our friends battle. It's gonna suck when one of them loses."

Dawn raised an eyebrow at that, not exactly sure why Tierno would be so confident in Trevor. Ash may have lost against them in their tag battle, but Dawn had seen what he was capable of, and from what she'd been told, so had everyone else. Ash had to be the favourite to win this one. _Unless Trevor uses his Mega Charizard_ , Dawn thought to herself, wondering if Ash would be stubborn enough to keep his promise to Torterra if Trevor did that. _Why am I even wondering that? Of course he will be._ Maybe Tierno was confident for good reason.

"We don't need to be upset if one loses," Clemont pointed out, sitting to Dawn's right and next to Tierno, who now had his Chimchar in his lap to watch the battle. "Just cheer for both of them. I'm sure this will be a great battle. It will be a good measuring stick for Trevor, since he and Ash were both only defeated by Alain."

"I didn't think of that," Shauna said excitedly, holding up Trevor's Mudkip so it could see clearly. "Maybe Trevor will be able to prove he should have made it to the finals." _I guess we know who Shauna's cheering for,_ Dawn noted, looking up to see that Ash and Trevor had taken their positions on each side of the battlefield. A referee was now coming through the entrance, so the battle was likely about to begin.

"Don't be so sure, Shauna," Serena said from her spot to Dawn's left, Rowlet sitting comfortably in her lap, eyes wide open as he watched his trainer get ready. "Ash made it to the finals for good reason. Even if he gets in a tough spot, he can bounce out of it. We saw it a lot, didn't we?"

"Speaking of tough spots," Clemont said, sounding quite nervous, "I'm about to be in one." Dawn glanced to her side and noticed he had his pokeball in his hand, and he seemed to be bringing up the courage to open it. "All right, here it goes. Turtwig, come on out."

The light from the pokeball flashed brightly, and a moment later, Clemont's Turtwig appeared in front of him, immediately standing up, eyes darting everywhere. "Turt-turt-twig!" he shouted out excitedly, eyes landing on Clemont. Based on what happened yesterday, Dawn was worried that the grass type was about to leap for his trainer's glasses. This time, Marie wasn't available to have her Jigglypuff stop it, like yesterday, as she was going to be helping out at the Pokemon Centre with it likely being extra busy with the tryouts.

"Hold on!" Serena called out quickly, surprisingly able to get Turtwig's attention, which immediately went to Rowlet sitting in her lap. He hadn't quite forgiven the owl Pokemon for taking the pokepuff basket away from him a few days ago. However, he was about to get some anyways, as Serena pulled out said basket, which now had chew marks all over it, and opened it up. She then took a pokepuff out, giving it to Rowlet, before passing it on to Dawn. "There should be enough for everyone and plenty for Turtwig," she said, as Dawn called out Piplup, handing him one and then giving the basket to Clemont, who barely kept it out of Turtwig's reach for the time being.

"Wow, these look amazing," Dawn said, as Piplup happily engulfed his pokepuff in one bite. "You must be an amazing cook, Serena."

"Oh, you think so?" Serena asked, looking a little embarrassed by the compliment. "I guess I've had a lot of practice. I can teach you if you want. You never know, maybe you'll try out a Showcase one of these days and it could come in handy."

"Haha, maybe," Dawn shrugged, turning back to watch as the referee stepped forward. The battle was about to begin.

"This will be a one on one battle between Ash and Trevor for the first match of the Lumiose University Battle Team tryouts. When one Pokemon is unable to battle, the other Pokemon and its trainer will be declared the trainer. Do you agree?" The referee looked first to Trevor, who nodded, and then to Ash, who nodded as well, holding up his pokeball. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Charizard, you're up!" Trevor yelled, throwing out his pokeball and revealing his fire-lizard in front of him. "This will be a tough one, Charizard, but I know if anyone can beat Ash, it's you."

Dawn couldn't help but wince as Charizard roared in response to that. She'd met Ash's Charizard, and while this one didn't look as intimidating, its roar still managed to make her uneasy. Ash didn't flinch, though, and instead pulled back his arm, ready to throw his pokeball out. "Maybe Charizard's your strongest, Trevor, but he's not gonna win this one. Torterra, I choose you!"

As the light flashed in front of Ash, revealing the massive Continent Pokemon, Dawn noticed that Turtwig was actually taking a small break from eating his pokepuffs, watching his evolved counterpart prepare for battle. _I have to give Ash credit. He's helping Clemont out big time, here,_ Dawn realized, seeing that Clemont had noticed Turtwig's interest in the battle as well. _I just hope his Torterra can keep up with a powerful fire type like Charizard._

"Hoo! Hoo!'" Rowlet cheered out, just as the referee signalled for the trainers to begin. It seemed like a couple of strange grass types were interested in the battle.

"All right, let's start this one off strong, Torterra. Energy Ball!" Ash shouted, thrusting his arm forward as he made the order.

"Terra!" Torterra shouted, a green orb forming in his mouth as he opened it wide open. With another shout, he reared his head back, and then thrust it forward, sending the shining orb quickly towards Charizard.

"Counter it with Dragon Claw!" Trevor shouted, a little nervously, but still forcefully. Charizard roared in answer, flapping his wings hard, and then shooting forward towards the incoming attack. As he approached, his claws extended, glowing in a green light, before he slashed forward, striking hard against the Energy Ball. It exploded on contact, the shock wave sending Charizard back a few feet, wincing a little. Clearly he and Trevor hadn't expected the attack to be so strong.

Ash wasn't going to let that be his only show of strength, though, as he immediately ordered his next attack. "Leaf Storm, let's go!"

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Serena suddenly asked, whispering her question to Dawn, while, Trevor called for Charizard to counter with a Flamethrower. "Ash and his Pokemon, even if apart for so long, they still work so well together."

"Yeah," Dawn answered, nodding as she watched the two attacks explode against each other, Ash and Trevor immediately ordering an Energy Ball and Flamethrower to follow up. "I feel like Ash is probably half Pokemon with the way he's able to understand them so well."

"Seems like he's already inspired Rowlet, here," Serena said with a laugh, holding up the little owl Pokemon as Charizard's and Torterra's attacks once again exploded against each other. However, this time Ash had ordered a second quick Energy Ball, which whipped through the smoke and exploded against Charizard immediately, sending the fire-lizard flying back and crashing hard into the ground.

"Turtwig seems to be enjoying things as well," Clemont whispered, possibly trying to avoid being heard by his overly energetic Pokemon. Dawn noticed that, indeed, Turtwig was watching the battle closely, eyes focused on Torterra, who could now be seen through the smoke, looking confident after another successful attack on Charizard.

"Things are about to get tough for Ash, though," Tierno informed the group. When Dawn looked over to him, he pointed to Trevor. "Trevor and Charizard are going full power, now."

Dawn and the others quickly turned their attention to Trevor, and immediately noticed that Tierno was right. Trevor had his camera up and was holding his finger over the Key Stone he kept at the top. "Ash, you're already showing that your Torterra can win despite the type matchup. I don't know if I should have expected anything else, but I'm not going to stop if I have something that can give me the advantage." He then pressed his finger to the Key Stone, a bright, white light immediately shooting out of it. "I can win this battle and prove I'm no pushover. Charizard, mega evolve!"

Dawn had yet to see a Pokemon mega evolve, with the exception of seeing video clips of it, or if Ash's Greninja's transformation was considered something similar. She hadn't expected it to be so bright, so she winced as the bright lights extending out of the Mega Stone on Charizard's tail and the Key Stone on Trevor's camera reached out to one another. She had to close her eyes a few moments, feeling the raw power emanating from the transformation. When she opened her eyes, she was stunned to see the far more powerful form of Charizard in front of her, as a bright orb of light suddenly shot into the air, creating the effect of a bright, sunny day in the battlefield.

Charizard was now a little larger, but unlike the one that Ash had described from his Kalos League final battle, this one still kept the same orange skin, and overall, still looked similar to a regular Charizard. However, the minor differences, such as the spike extending out of the middle of its head, the jagged wings and the spikes on its tail, all made it a far more intimidating sight than its regular form. Dawn didn't think she could ever compete with a Pokemon like that.

"This isn't good for Ash," Clemont muttered, staring up at the bright orb that had shot into the air. "Charizard's ability when mega evolved this way is Drought. It's essentially using the move Sunny Day, without even knowing the move. All of his fire type attacks will be powered up, and that's without taking the mega evolution into account."

"And with Torterra being a grass type..." Dawn said slowly, watching as Ash studied his opponent, eyes going between the bright orb, Charizard and then Torterra.

"It's okay," Serena whispered, holding Rowlet close to her as she seemed somewhat tensed up, "Ash knows how to deal with these kinds of things."

"Um...aren't you happy that Trevor's doing well?" Dawn asked, confused as to why her friend seemed so supportive of Ash.

"Of course," Serena said quickly, looking a little confused herself. "I just want it to be...close."

Dawn nodded, turning her attention back to the battle. She supposed Serena was just trying to reassure Rowlet more than anything else. She could see that Ash was ready to make a move, and narrowed her eyes, watching Torterra brace himself for the next stage of the battle. "Torterra, use Leaf Storm!"

"Flamethrower!" Trevor countered immediately, his voice full of confidence at this point.

Charizard roared loudly as he reared his head back, flames already escaping his jaws as he thrust his head forward. The swirling leaves from Torterra, and the jet of scorching hot flames from Charizard rushed towards each other, colliding in the middle of the battlefield, exploding on contact, smoke billowing into the air. However, one attack managed to force itself through, and this time it was Trevor's. Dawn winced, watching as Torterra was completely engulfed by the flames.

"Terraaa!" the Continent Pokemon cried out, sounding like it was in pure agony. Dawn could just see Ash wincing through the smoke as he watched his Pokemon. He was beginning to sweat, clearly seeing he had the disadvantage at this point.

However, just then, Ash narrowed his eyes, looking up at the bright light from Charizard's Drought, and he smiled, eyes lighting up with confidence as Charizard's attack ended, leaving Torterra panting heavily, nearly wiped out by the one attack. "Not bad, Trevor," Ash acknowledged, holding a fist up in front of his face, "but Torterra and I are still gonna win. Use Synthesis!"

"Terra!" Torterra shouted, nodding, eyes lighting up as he glanced up towards the "sun" created by Drought. Suddenly, the Continent Pokemon's body began to glow in a bright green light, scorch marks from the flames immediately beginning to vanish.

"What?" Trevor called out, completely caught off guard by Torterra healing himself like this. "Charizard's ability actually helped you?"

"You didn't think I would go into this battle without a plan, did you?" Ash asked, narrowing his eyes and smiling confidently. "I watched your battle against Alain. You might have thought that Charizard's ability would give you just enough to win, but I know my Pokemon's strengths too, and we don't give up. Torterra, Energy Ball!"

Trevor gritted his teeth, looking lost on what to do, not even ordering a counterattack as the green orb was launched forth from Torterra's jaws. It sped towards a confused looking Charizard and crashed into his chest, sending him spiralling back, before landing hard in the dirt and sliding a few feet further, stopping just in front of Trevor.

"Am I that far behind?" Trevor asked, his voice quiet, but somehow still managing to reach the crowd. "Even with the type advantage, a mega evolved Pokemon and powered up attacks, I still can't beat you."

Dawn could barely believe what she was watching. She had to admit, she was cheering for Ash, but Trevor had still become her friend, and seeing him suddenly doubt himself like this was hard to watch. It was clearly worrying the others as well. "He's not going to give up, is he?" she whispered to Serena.

"I...I don't know," Serena admitted, looking back and forth between Trevor and Ash, the latter staring at Trevor in shock.

"I'm always the weakest one. I'm always the one who's behind. Tierno, he made it to the quarterfinals of the Kalos League, while I was knocked out right away. Serena and Shauna, they both made it to the final rounds of the Masterclass Showcase. And now I'm friends with you, Dawn and Clemont, and all of you have had so much success. Clemont's one of the best gym leaders, Dawn is as close to being a Top Coordinator as someone can be and you're one of the best trainers I've ever met. I was barely able to qualify as an advanced student here. I was still considered weak, even though I thought I'd finally proved myself by making it to the Kalos League."

"I didn't know he felt like that," Serena whispered, looking guiltily at Dawn. "He's usually been the most optimistic of our group."

Trevor was silent a few moments, staring at his struggling Charizard in front of him. "I'm sorry, Charizard...maybe this isn't something we should even bother with. I don't even know why I even tried."

Dawn barely realized she was holding her breath as she watched this. She could see Charizard struggling to his feet, turning around to face his trainer. He looked angry, but Dawn could see the love that he had for Trevor. He didn't want to give up. He still wanted to fight.

"Trevor, you're not a bad trainer. Not at all." Dawn looked over to see Ash now standing next to Torterra on the battlefield. "You can't judge yourself by what you've done in comparison to your friends. Everyone is different." He turned his head, looking at Torterra, patting the Continent Pokemon on the head affectionately, before turning back to face Trevor. "I doubt myself sometimes as well, believe me. I was doing it last week after Dawn and Tierno beat Serena and I. You just need to get back up again and fight, though. It's not fun to lose and when you feel like you're the one who is behind everyone else, it becomes harder and harder to get back up." Ash's eyes then narrowed, and he looked as fierce as he did when he battled. "Don't give up on getting better, Trevor. Each time you don't give up, you become stronger. You learn something new. So don't give up now, because we have a battle to finish, and I know it'll be great if you can believe in Charizard and yourself."

Ash didn't even wait for Trevor's answer, instead turning around immediately and heading back to his side of the battlefield. Dawn turned her head towards Trevor, wondering how he'd taken that. Not surprisingly, he looked somewhat shocked, staring at Ash blankly. His eyes then moved towards Charizard, who immediately nodded once making eye contact, looking fierce and ready to continue the battle. "You want to keep battling, don't you?" Trevor asked, and Charizard nodded right away. Trevor laughed at that, smiling at his partner Pokemon. "In that case, we'll do what Ash says, and we won't give up. Ready for round two, Ash?" he called out.

"You bet!" Ash answered, before raising a fist in the air. "Torterra, Energy Ball!"

"Charizard, Dragon Tail! Send it right back!" Trevor shouted.

For such a big Pokemon, it was kind of strange to see Torterra fire off an attack so quickly, the green orb forming in his mouth and being launched forward within seconds. Charizard moved just as quickly, though, flapping his wings hard, and launching forward, tail glowing bright green. The fire-lizard reached the Energy Ball at the centre of the battlefield, swinging his tail forward with full force. A moment later, after straining against the attack, the green orb of energy was sent flying back towards Torterra, crashing against the Continent Pokemon and causing him to stagger back with lumbering steps.

"Now, Flamethrower! Before he can recover!" Trevor ordered, pointing ahead emphatically.

Charizard roared loudly, flying high into the air, using the "sun" to hide himself in the light so that Torterra couldn't see. He opened his jaws wide, and then the massive jet of flames burst forth, striking Torterra immediately.

"Terraaa!" the Continent Pokemon yelled in pain, and Dawn was shocked to see it fall to its knees as the smoke cleared. Maybe Ash had motivated Trevor a little too much.

"Before he can use Synthesis, finish this up with another Flamethrower!" Trevor called, sounding like he was sure of his victory at this point.

"Rock Climb, let's go!" Ash ordered quickly, eyes darting between Charizard and Torterra. Dawn was surprised that he wasn't using Synthesis, but supposed it likely would have taken too long. Instead, Torterra quickly straightened up, as Charizard reared back his head, flames forming in his jaws. Torterra seemed to sense he needed to move faster, rising up on his back legs and then slamming down hard with his front two. A massive rock began to shoot up into the air, and as Charizard launched his flames, Torterra began to run up the ground shaking with his quick movements. The flames struck him hard, but somehow he managed to keep going, his front right leg glowing white as he reached Charizard. He suddenly leaped up above the rock formation, swinging his glowing leg forward and striking Charizard hard in the chest, sending him staggering back.

"Let's finish this!" both trainers yelled, as Torterra landed on his mini mountain, which was now descending back towards the ground.

"Flamethrower!"

"Leaf Storm!"

The two attacks burst forth, shooting past each other and striking their targets with massive explosions on each side. Smoke and dust erupted in the centre of the battlefield, completely blocking out the light from the fake sun. Dawn gasped as she saw the dust beginning to settle, and the mountain from Rock Climb reach the battlefield, completely disappeared, but leaving a shape at the centre. However, a moment later, another shape fell to the ground, landing right next to the larger one. For a moment, everyone watched in silence, as both Pokemon seemed to struggle to move, but finally, they both stopped, heads hitting the ground as they gave in to their exhaustion.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! The battle between Ash and Trevor is a draw!" the referee announced, holding up a flag towards each trainer.

"Wow," Clemont said, chuckling a little, "I guess I'm lucky I'm in the other group, huh?" Dawn laughed at that, looking down at Turtwig to see what the energetic grass type seemed to think. She was surprised as he looked to be somewhat in awe, gaze going between Ash, Trevor, Charizard and Torterra.

"I think Turtwig is impressed," Dawn said, pointing out what she was seeing to Clemont.

"Rowlet is too," Serena added, holding up the owl Pokemon. "You've got a great trainer, Rowlet. He really helped Trevor out, there, didn't he?"

"Hoo! Hoo!"

* * *

The rest of the morning and early afternoon went by fairly quickly, with Clemont easily winning his first three matches, Heliolisk and Magneton putting on impressive performances, while Chespin was surprisingly quite dominant in his own match. Ash, of course, was quite successful as well, his Infernape winning a match with a simple Mach Punch and Flare Blitz combo. Hawlucha then had a good brawl with a Hitmonchan, but Serena suspected that Hawlucha went easy on it, as he likely could have dodged a lot of the attacks, but kept putting himself in the way of punches, as though he enjoyed getting hit.

Trevor was probably the most impressive of all three, though, completely invigorated by his match with Ash. His Aerodactyl put on a dazzling display of flying skills, completely confusing his opponent, a Doublade, before finishing off the match with a Flamethrower. Following that, his Florges pulled off an impressive Moonblast and Energy Ball double attack, which easily put an end to its opponent, a hulking Electivire.

Following the morning's battles, the registration for the Performance Team tryouts opened, and the Theme Performance Competitions took place in the early afternoon. Luckily, the Battle Team tryout participants were given a break to rest up their Pokemon, so Ash, Trevor and Clemont were able to watch Serena's and Shauna's first competitions, the Pokemon Quiz and Baking Contest.

Shauna eased past the Pokemon Quiz, getting every single question right and putting her well ahead for first place, while Serena did well enough to put herself in second place, getting three questions wrong, but earning points for Pancham's speed in the Pokemon race which accompanied the quiz.

In the Baking Contest, Shauna managed to hold her first place lead, although Serena narrowed the gap with her own first place finish. Shauna's Ivysaur used Sweet Scent while her trainer baked her pokepuffs giving them a smell which had Turtwig's pokeball shaking in Clemont's hands. Serena managed to top it with taste, though, the judges giving her a perfect score and each of them asking her to bake them a batch when she had time, though she was allowed to keep her extras for Pikachu, Rowlet, Turtwig and the others.

The group was just getting ready for the next challenge for the Performers, which would be the Fashion Show held in the theatre at the training facilities, which Serena was particularly excited about. She and Braixen had been working hard for this one, and had designed a couple of perfect outfits. It was definitely not going to turn out like their first Fashion Show, which had been a complete disaster, with Fennekin tripping on stage. Serena blamed herself, though. If she hadn't overdone the dressing up with Fennekin, they would have been fine. That was in the past, though, and Serena knew they would bounce back now.

"So Serena, what are you going to wear?" Tierno asked, eyes shining as he knelt down in front of her, reaching out for her hand, which she pulled back. "I'm sure you'll look great no matter what."

"Um, thanks," Serena muttered, taking a step back. She glanced towards Shauna and Dawn hopefully, trying to signal for them to do something. "I'll keep it a surprise."

"Why don't you get to practising for your Contest Battles tomorrow?" Dawn said, picking up on Serena's discomfort and grabbing Tierno's shoulder.

"Or maybe you can just stop distracting us while we get ready for our Fashion Show," Shauna added, taking his other shoulder. The two girls then began dragging the stunned Tierno off. Where they were going, Serena had no idea, but she appreciated their help. Trevor followed after them, possibly worried for his best friend's safety.

"So you're doing this with Braixen, right Serena?" Ash asked, once the four trainers had gone out of their sight. "Shauna mentioned you had a rough time once in a Fashion Show when Braixen was a Fennekin. Is that right?"

Serena nodded, feeling a little embarrassed, but somewhat happy that Ash knew of her past failure. She would be happy to show that Trevor wasn't the only one capable of bouncing back after a rough start. "Yeah, Fennekin tripped in our very first Showcase, and I lost in the first round. I was pretty down after it, but I think I've come back strong. We're not going to mess up again."

"That's the spirit," Ash said, exchanging a smile with Pikachu. Rowlet even flew out of his backpack, flying over to perch on Serena's shoulder, showing he supported her determination.

"Looks like Rowlet's taken a liking to you, Serena," Clemont noted, gesturing to the Grass Quill Pokemon. "You and Ash battling seem to be the only things that can keep him awake."

Serena reached into her bag, pulling out one of her few remaining pokepuffs and fed it to Rowlet, smiling at the little owl Pokemon. "Yeah, Rowlet and I are becoming good friends. Maybe you'll need to get a new Pokemon for your class, Ash," she joked, giving a small wink to the raven-haired trainer.

Ash narrowed his eyes at that. "Don't go getting any ideas," he muttered, watching Serena and Rowlet somewhat suspiciously, the latter enjoying his pokepuff with a few soft "hoos".

"Well, maybe I'll let you keep him," Serena added, giggling as she gently removed Rowlet from her shoulder. She held him out to Ash, who reached out quickly, possibly not getting the joke, though Clemont and Pikachu clearly did, as both were laughing. Serena pulled back, holding Rowlet close to her again, Ash's hands just missing his Pokemon. "You do need to promise to let me take care of him during your battles, though. Okay?"

Finally, Ash seemed to get that she was joking, as Serena giggled once again, holding Rowlet out towards Ash once more. He gave a sheepish grin and then took Rowlet back. "Yeah, you can be Rowlet's official babysitter."

"Hoo!" Rowlet hooted angrily, flapping his wings and shooting out of Ash's arms. He then dove at Ash's head, pecking him and knocking him backwards, causing him to fall on his backside. Rowlet then tilted his head, studying his trainer, before diving into the backpack, as Ash sat up.

"Oh, I guess babysitter wasn't the right word," Ash realized, rubbing his head where he'd been pecked.

The three of them continued to wait for the Fashion Show to begin, Serena becoming a little more anxious as the time continued to pass. Finally, a speaker in the lobby came on, and the voice of Fantina was heard. "Bonjour ladies and gentlemen! Ze Fashion Show iz about to begin! I would like to ask all ze participating ladies to make their way backstage so zat we may get you all prepared and get ze show underway."

"Okay, I guess it's time," Serena said, taking a deep breath, glancing around hopefully for Shauna, worried she hadn't heard. A moment later, though, she could see her brunette friend approaching, Dawn, Trevor and Tierno slowly coming behind.

"I'm sure you'll do great," Clemont said, giving a thumbs up. "Good luck."

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what you look like. I bet you'll look awesome!" Ash added, smiling at her. Serena felt her heart beat a little faster at that, but she assumed it was just her nerves.

"Thanks," she squeaked, turning around a little faster than she intended. "I'll see you later," she finished, walking towards the doors towards the theatre, which a few other performers were already heading towards.

 _It's warm in here,_ she noted, rubbing her neck, feeling like she was in front of Charizard's scorching Flamethrower again. _I need to relax. A Fashion Show isn't_ that _bad._

"Hey Serena, you okay?" Shauna's voice suddenly said, as the brunette appeared at Serena's side, while the two made their way into the theatre. "You look a little red."

"Just a bit nervous...I think," Serena answered, although now that she was in the theatre, she was feeling a little better. "I think I'm fine, though."

"Good, because we need to hold onto our leads. I plan on keeping first place, but I want you to be a close second, all right?" Shauna said jokingly, laughing as she looked around the theatre.

Serena nodded, smiling at her friend's excitement. "Yeah, you can count on it." Feeling her head clearing up a bit, she then narrowed her eyes, looking at her Shauna with determination. "I'll be in first place after this, though."

"We'll see about that," Shauna quipped, winking.

Within about twenty minutes, the aspiring performers were all backstage, each one at a table, setting up their Pokemon with their various outfits. Serena could hear the commotion in the stadium, signalling that students who were watching were already inside, meaning that their time was limited. She looked around the room, seeing many of the girls already close to finishing their outfits on their Pokemon and some even going into the changing rooms to put on their own outfits. She knew she had to pick up the pace.

"Okay, Braixen," Serena said to her Pokemon, adjusting a pink bow on the fox Pokemon's ear, "you're looking great. We just need to finish up with your little dress." It wasn't really a dress, but rather a pink skirt that Serena was able to tie around Braixen's midsection. When she stood up, her outfit complete, Braixen was dressed much like Serena would normally dress for Showcases, a pink dress, carefully brushed hair, in this case fur, and a pink bow on her head. Serena knew it would go perfectly with her own outfit.

Serena quickly gathered up her things and made her way into the changing room as she heard Fantina begin speaking to the crowd in the theatre, obviously about to start the Fashion Show. By the time Serena had managed to get herself ready, which took about ten minutes as she was doing her best to make every little piece perfect and ensure her hair was brushed, Fantina had already called out three girls. The time was quickly approaching for Serena to go out.

When she stepped out of the changing room, a few girls turned and looked at her, their jaws dropping at the sight. They looked disappointed, but Serena had the feeling it had nothing to do with her having a bad outfit. She would have felt bad, but the girls nodded at her, smiling in admiration of her work, before walking off.

Serena took this moment to turn and look at herself in a mirror, wondering if there was anything that she had missed. She smiled at the sight she saw, proud of her work. It was very similar to an outfit she'd designed for Fennekin and herself for a PokeVision video near the start of her journey. While Braixen may have been dressed like Serena, Serena was dressed like Braixen, with a pink dress, accompanied by her various bows, along with a red, orange and yellow skirt which matched Braixen's fur perfectly. It wasn't quite like her PokeVision outfit, instead a little more elegant. When she turned away from the mirror, she could see Braixen looking proudly at her, excited to go out on stage.

"Next up, we have Serena Yvonne from ze wondeful Vaniville Town!" Fantina's voice called out, startling Serena a little.

Serena and Braixen quickly made their way over to the side of the stage, behind the curtain, and could just see Fantina at the other side of the stage. The Gym Leader turned Coordinator signalled for Serena to go, and the latter took a deep breath. "Let's go, Braixen," she whispered, reaching out her hand and taking Braixen's paw.

The two then began to walk out onto the stage, waving and smiling to the crowd and taking a few bows. Serena could tell that she was doing well, but as she approached the front of the stage, she scanned the crowd for her friends, wanting to know their thoughts. Finally, as she reached the end of the stage, she could see them, in the middle row, near the back.

Tierno, not surprisingly, was staring wide-eyed, almost drooling, his head lolling to the side, causing Trevor to push him away, before he looked at Serena and gave a thumbs up. Clemont and Dawn both met her gaze, nodding and smiling while they applauded. And then there was Ash, who Serena noticed wasn't clapping, cheering, and perhaps not even paying attention. Rowlet and Pikachu were clearly watching, one on each of his shoulders, one clapping with paws while the other clapped with wings. Dawn, who was sitting next to Ash, seemed to notice his blank look, and nudged him, causing him to blink and then lock eyes with Serena. He gave a quick shake of his head, and then smiled. _Great job,_ he mouthed, before joining the others in clapping.

As Serena turned around and began walking back with Braixen, she felt her heart beating faster once more. She knew she was doing well, so it felt kind of strange that her somewhat nervous feeling from earlier was returning. As she glanced at Braixen next to her, she could see her Pokemon looking up at her in concern, clearly noticing something. Serena gave a quick shake of her head and looked straight ahead while the two made their way backstage again. _It really is warm in here,_ she told herself, pulling off her ribbons, which were suddenly very uncomfortable.

 **Author's Note:**

Trevor is now hopefully a little less boring. Maybe it was a bit much having him nearly have a meltdown, but I think him feeling like he's the one that lags behind is something that works. So, having him prove himself in the screening battles and once again here against Ash, it's a little something I'm trying to do with him. I hope you enjoyed that. Oh yeah...and Trevor Knows. Well, maybe more like Trevor Suspects.

And Serena's Fashion Show. How does one make that exciting? I do not know, but of course, that wasn't the main point of the Fashion Show. A certain character doesn't even realize she has a crush yet, so...you know. One small step there. Still lots to go with that. And the dense boy will be dense for quite a while yet. Oh...and I have no idea how to describe a fancy dress, so basically the idea was just the Fennekin outfit, but more "professional".

The next chapter will have Tierno's first Contest Battle, along with some other stuff with the tryouts. See you then.


	15. The Lumiose Luxrays

**Author's Note:**

I apologize...the holidays were much busier than expected. Anyways, I think I'll have a decent amount of time this week. I will talk more on that down below, though. For now, we continue the tryouts for the Lumiose University Battle and Performance teams!

 **Chapter 15: The Lumiose Luxrays**

"Luxray, finish up with Wild Charge!" Clemont yelled, already punching the air in triumph as he watched the Gleam Eyes Pokemon charge towards his opponent, electricity crackling along his body. Luxray roared loudly just as he reached the Typhlosion in front of him. The latter was thrown back, flying through the air before crashing into the ground in front of its trainer.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!" the referee declared, holding an arm up towards Clemont. "Luxray and Clemont are the winners! With a perfect record, Clemont qualifies for the Lumiose University Battle Team!"

"Yeah!" Tierno and Dawn cheered from their spot at the sidelines. "Go Clemont!" they shouted, seemingly irritating a purple-haired man next to them, who got up quickly and departed.

Clemont waved over to them to acknowledge their support, and then quickly made his way over to Luxray, giving a quick nod to his departing opponent as he did so. "Luxray, you were awesome!"

"Lux," Luxray acknowledged, giving his trainer a small nod as he breathed heavily, clearly a little tired after his battle.

"Why don't you take a rest? You deserve it," Clemont said, pulling out his pokeball and recalling the Gleam Eyes Pokemon as it nodded gratefully. "Thanks," Clemont whispered, as he put the pokeball away, while Dawn and Tierno came up behind him. He stood up, turning around to meet them, smiling as he saw the joy on their faces.

"I guess we knew you were going to make it, but it's still a relief to see it happen officially," Dawn said, smiling, but showing the remains of her nerves in her somewhat shaky breathing. "With you and Trevor in, now it's just Ash. I hope he's doing well."

"You didn't have to watch my battle, you know," Clemont told the two as they began to make their way out towards the lobby to head over to where Ash's battle was. "I know you guys were friends before coming here."

"It's fine, buddy," Tierno said happily, putting his arm around Clemont's shoulder while they walked. "Trevs wanted to watch Ash and I guess Serena and Shauna did too, so we couldn't let you be alone. Besides, seeing a top notch Gym Leader in action is a good experience. Even for a future Top Coordinator like me."

"Yeah, and it was a good battle," Dawn added, laughing a little at Tierno's comment, while Clemont managed to squirm away from his heavy arm. "I'm sure Serena and the others had Ash's back, too."

As they stepped into the lobby and made their way to the battlefield Ash was in, Clemont could hear some cheers from the crowd inside. "I guess they still do. Sounds like it's still going on." Dawn and Tierno nodded excitedly, clearly happy they'd get to catch a bit of Ash's match, and the three trainers quickly made their way inside, seeing Ash and Pikachu in front of them when they entered, while Greninja was in the middle of the battlefield, striking a Breloom in the chest with a Cut attack.

Clemont winced as he saw the Breloom get thrown backwards, landing hard on the ground but somehow managing to rise to its feet. It had clearly been taking a beating, while Greninja looked like he could've just gotten out of the Pokemon Centre. "Water Shuriken!" Ash suddenly yelled, mimicking Greninja's actions as the frog-ninja Pokemon put his webbed hands together at his hip, bent low, and then threw the watery ninja star forward. Clemont watched closely as the attack struck Breloom hard, once again in the chest, sending it to the ground again. This time, it didn't get up.

"Breloom is unable to battle!" the referee declared, getting a huge cheer from the crowd with the call, including a particularly loud cheer from the trio of Serena, Shauna and Trevor, who Clemont could see sitting in the front row nearest to him and the others. They were in front of a blonde girl that was wearing what appeared to be a helmet on her head, that her hair looped through in a ponytail. She looked somewhat amused as she watched Ash, but her attention then moved downwards. She had a notepad in her hands, and was apparently finishing up a note as the referee made the call. "Greninja and Ash are the winners! With a record of four wins and one draw, Ash ties Trevor for the best record in the group and qualifies for the Lumiose University Battle Team!"

As Clemont joined the crowd in applauding Ash, he watched the raven-haired trainer for his reaction, expecting his usually energetic friend to be excited. However, Ash simply gave a polite wave to the crowd, and then approached Greninja, who was looking back, appearing somewhat disappointed. With the way Ash's shoulders were slightly slumped, Clemont wondered if he was disappointed as well.

The inventor didn't need to point this out to his friends, as Dawn seemed to have picked up on it as well. "He's disappointed he couldn't sync up with Greninja, I think," she murmured, sympathy in her eyes as she watched Ash and Greninja accepting a congratulations from the opposing trainer and his Breloom. "He was really frustrated with that back in Pallet Town."

"But he had it working perfectly in the Kalos League," Tierno pointed out. "I saw it. Greninja had this big Water Shuriken on his back. It was amazing. Isn't it just that he won this battle easily and it didn't kick in?"

Clemont thought for a moment while Dawn shrugged in response to Tierno's question. He could see Serena, Shauna and Trevor heading over towards Ash, who now seemed to be expressing a little more happiness with his victory, patting Greninja on the shoulder and smiling before turning to his friends. "That bond is very difficult to understand, even for Professor Sycamore," Clemont pointed out. "I'd like to think Ash can figure it out, though. We all know by now how hard he works. He and Greninja, along with all of us will make sure we're ready for our next challenge."

"Well that challenge is coming fast," Dawn said, excitement making her voice shake a little. "I can't wait to get in the action. It's been tough for Tierno and I to watch all of you competing. We need something more to do."

Clemont laughed, knowing he'd probably have a hard time waiting an extra day as well. The wait was still a little longer, but today had gone by quickly and even the spectators were probably ready to relax after all the battles and Showcase competitions. The final Performance Team tryouts would be here before anyone knew it. He was about to answer Dawn, but just then, he noticed Ash and the others making their way over, Ash having just recalled Greninja to his pokeball.

"Hey Ash, great job there. We just caught the end of it, but it looks like you really had that one under control," Tierno said excitedly, giving a wink to Serena randomly as he spoke.

"Ash was great!" Trevor almost shouted, speaking up before Ash could answer. His Mudkip, who had just been passed to him by Shauna, looked up like it was somewhat concerned. "He and Greninja didn't let up at all. Did Breloom even land a hit?"

"It was definitely pretty impressive," Serena chimed in, looking down at Ash's Rowlet in her arms while petting him. "Even as a Performer I could tell that Greninja was way more powerful." She then looked up, smiling at Ash, while Rowlet hooted softly, urging her to continue petting him. "I'm sure he'll be even stronger once the IPL starts, right Ash?"

Clemont could tell that Serena had picked up on Ash's frustration, and even if she hadn't been told about his struggles, it was clear she at least had some idea. Ash looked like he understood that as well, and gave a small nod, before looking around at the group. "How about we all head to the Pokemon Centre and eat there?" he asked, his stomach rumbling like an echo to his suggestion of eating. "We can catch up with Marie, and tell her about how things went for us."

"Sure, sounds good!" Dawn agreed quickly, then followed by the others. "I know she really wanted to be here, so she'll probably be really happy if we stop by and let her know how well you all did."

As the group made their way out of the battlefield and then out of the building, Clemont noticed Ash walking a little slower, joining the inventor at the back of the group. Clemont didn't know if Ash wanted to talk, or if he was just simply lost in his own thoughts, but decided to strike up a conversation anyways. "So, Ash, are you excited about the IPL?"

The raven-haired trainer looked a little startled by the sudden question, but managed a smile as he looked at Clemont. "Yeah, I can't wait! Professor Sycamore said we'll find out which schools we're up against on Monday. I hope that whatever schools we face, they have strong trainers with strong Pokemon."

"I bet they will," Clemont said, smiling at his friend's wish. Some trainers would want an easy opponent for an easy victory, but Ash wanted nothing more than a good challenge each and every time he battled. "It'll definitely be interesting to see what the other schools have to offer. They might have trainers who have competed in the IPL for years if they've been at school for a while."

Ash looked up at Pikachu, both smirking at the idea of getting to fight some experienced trainers. "I hope the IPL has toughened them up, then, because I need to keep pushing myself." He looked ahead, and Clemont could see Ash watching Dawn and Tierno, who were describing Luxray's finishing move in his battle to Serena, Shauna and Trevor. "I know I did fairly well in these tryouts, but I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut. Ever since my battle against Alain, something's been missing. At first I thought it was just Greninja and me, but I think there might be more to it."

Clemont didn't really know if he could provide any words to help Ash. He knew what it was like to feel a bit lost after a disappointing defeat, but he'd never had an experience like Ash had. The aspiring Pokemon Master had been so close to taking a huge step towards his dream, only to have the opportunity slip away from him. Clemont supposed that any kind of quest, whether it was another badge quest, or school, would feel like a letdown after such a hard fought Kalos League challenge.

"If there's anything you need, you know I'll help, right?" Clemont finally said, wanting to make sure Ash knew he was there for support. Clemont might not have known exactly what Ash was going through, but he knew enough to know that he needed to be there for his friend, who clearly had something troubling him.

Ash didn't seem to know exactly what was troubling him either, but he was obviously grateful as he looked back at Clemont. "Yeah, I know, Clemont." His eyes then drifted towards the rest of their friends, seeming to rest on Serena. Clemont supposed that was just because Ash was watching Rowlet, who was now perched on the Performer's hat. "I know all of us will help each other."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, doing little more than looking at the scenes of city life around them. Clemont supposed it was just the fact they were in a school most of the time, but he was feeling somewhat exhilarated by being out in the city. They saw little kids playing with Pokemon in a small park, some people in business suits walking around with briefcases and even a few students that Clemont recognized from his classes. He could see a boy and a girl he recognized, a couple, sitting at a cafe just a few doors down from the Pokemon Centre. Serena, Shauna and Dawn all seemed to find it cute, while Clemont and the other males sped up their walking to avoid any awkwardness.

 _So help me Arceus if I ever end up doing that_ , Clemont thought to himself. He wasn't against having a girlfriend, despite what he told Bonnie, but he definitely didn't like the thought of having people stare at him while he was awkwardly sitting in a cafe. _I've got other things to worry about for now, anyways._

* * *

As they arrived at the Pokemon Centre, Serena paused to wait for the lagging Ash and Clemont while her other friends went inside. She held out her hands in front of her, and Rowlet suddenly flew down from his spot on her head, happy to return to Serena's arms. However, she handed the Grass Quill Pokemon to Ash as he and Clemont stopped in front of her. She was enjoying taking care of Rowlet during Ash's battles, but decided it was probably better for him to stick with his trainer now that they had some rest time.

"Thanks for taking care of him, Serena," Ash said gratefully as he took Rowlet from her. "You two have really hit it off, huh?"

"I guess so," Serena said with a little giggle as she gave Rowlet a poke on the beak, noticing that he was drifting off. "Rowlet sleeps a lot, though."

Clemont sighed at that, and Serena knew exactly what was on his mind. "I wish Turtwig would sleep a little more. Hopefully he learned a little something from watching Torterra, though."

"They'll both be fine," Ash said confidently, holding up Rowlet, who was now fully asleep, after only briefly opening his eyes from Serena's small poke. "Rowlet's gonna be a fierce battler, and Turtwig's gonna be as loyal as possible. We just have to keep on training and-"

"Don't give up," Serena finished, not exactly meaning to interrupt, eyes widening when she realized her thought had been spoken allowed. She glanced at Ash, feeling a little awkward about blurting out those words that were so important to her.

He didn't seem to think anything of it, though, and just nodded. "Yeah, we definitely can't do that. It'll be the same with my other Pokemon. I still have a lot of work to do with them." He exchanged a quick look with Clemont, and Serena got the feelings that the two had been lagging behind, because they'd been discussing something along these lines.

"We should probably head in," Clemont suggested after a few moments of silence, gesturing to the doors of the Pokemon Centre. "Everyone else is probably waiting."

Serena and Ash both nodded, and then the former led the way inside, glancing around as she entered, looking for their friends. She quickly noticed Trevor standing at the front desk, giving his pokeballs to Nurse Joy. Once he was done, he turned to his right, talking to a girl, who must have also been waiting for her Pokemon to be healed. She was a tall girl, with creamy blonde hair, which stuck out of a helmet in a fluffy ponytail. Serena was surprised to see the girl wearing rollerblades, which she supposed made sense given the helmet and the cycling shorts, along with white, sleeveless dress. She seemed to be pointing at Trevor's camera, and Serena realized the girl was interested in the Key Stone.

"Hey Serena! Guys!" Shauna's voice suddenly called out from Serena's left, and she looked over to see Shauna, Tierno and Dawn, along with Marie, who must have just gotten a break.

"Be there in a minutes!" Serena called back, before turning to Ash and Clemont. "Let's go get your Pokemon taken care of."

Clemont nodded, and started to move, but Ash seemed somewhat distracted, staring over towards where Trevor and the skater girl were talking. Serena quickly glanced over at the girl, and then back at Ash, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. "Um...A-"

Ash's face then broke into a huge smile. "Korrina!" he called out, quickly starting to walk forward, waving a little when the girl, Korrina, and Trevor, looked over. Ash signalled for Serena and Clemont to follow him, and made his way over to Trevor and this girl he apparently knew. When they reached the two, Serena could see that Korrina looked quite happy to see Ash, and the two quickly reached out their arms, doing a little fist bump. For some reason, the simplicity of their greeting calmed Serena's heart, which had started to beat rather quickly. "What are you doing here?" Ash finally asked, taking a step back.

"I could ask you the same thing, Ash," Korrina answered, eyes shining with amusement. "Arceus! I can't believe you're going to school. I thought it was weird enough that I'm going to school. You, though, that is definitely something I never expected."

Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment before exchanging a quick glance with Pikachu. "It all happened kind of quickly, I guess. It's weird to me, too. I'm glad I'm here, though. Things are great so far," he said, saying the last part with a little glance towards Serena. Her heart beat a little faster once again, and she decided to focus her attention on Pikachu's head while Ash spoke, which helped a little. "What do you mean about you being in school, though?"

"My grandfather took over the operation of Shalour College and I decided to join." Korrina laughed a little, rubbing the back of her neck much like Ash sometimes did. "I pretty much joined only so I could compete in the IPL. My grandfather still thinks I have a lot of work to do with Lucario, and we both agree. Unfortunately it's a little hard to run the gym, but we'll both take some challengers when we have a chance. It'll be a much tougher gym once I've trained through the IPL, though, so it'll all be worth it."

"Oh, so you're a bit like Clemont," Serena said, looking over to the inventor, before turning back to Korrina, who smiled back, but looked a little awkward, likely since they hadn't been introduced.

Ash seemed to have realized this and quickly put a hand on Clemont's and Serena's shoulders, after carefully placing Rowlet on his own. "Sorry," he muttered, smiling sheepishly, "these are my friends Serena and Clemont." He nodded to Trevor, and then gestured over to the rest of the group who were talking amongst themselves, unaware of what was going on here. "Obviously you've met Trevor, and over there is Marie, Tierno, Shauna and Dawn. Serena," he said, smiling at her, "is an awesome Performer. She and Shauna will be making it onto the Performance Team after tomorrow. Tierno and Dawn as well, but as coordinators. Trevor, Clemont and I already made it onto the Battle Team." He stopped and clapped Clemont on the back, causing him to have to readjust his glasses. "Like you, Clemont's a really strong Gym Leader."

"Oh! That's awesome!" Korrina almost shouted, looking at Clemont excitedly. "What gym do you run?"

Serena noticed Clemont was fidgeting with his glasses quite a bit and he seemed to avoid eye contact as he answered Korrina. "I...uh...I'm the Lumiose City Gym Leader. I don't know if 'really strong' is a phrase I'd use for me, though."

"Too bad I didn't get to see you battle. I was sent here to check out Ash and his Greninja and Trevor's Charizard for my grandfather." She chuckled, blushing a little from embarrassment. "I was kind of scouting you guys out for the IPL. I heard there was a teacher from Laverre University here as well, but I haven't seen him around. Apparently he's a real jerk. He and their captain. The people at my school told me they're really stuck up. They almost won the Championship last year, though, so I guess they're pretty strong."

"Hey, strong opponents are what we want," Ash announced confidently. "You'll be sorry you didn't see any of Clemont's battles, though. He's pretty strong."

"I bet he is!" Korrina said, smiling at Clemont, causing him once again to fidget with his glasses a lot. At least, it appeared to, as he immediately started fiddling with them when Korrina looked at him. "I know I've heard good things about the gym here, so I can't wait to get a chance to see you in action. It should be fun battling all of you." She then looked at Serena. "And we've got a good Performance Team as well, so I'll tell them they've got a tough team to beat here. They'll be ready."

"Sounds good to me," Serena replied, shaking Korrina's hand as the latter held it out. "I like a good challenge. Just like Ash."

Korrina smirked, looking at Ash with an almost mischievous look in her eyes. "He'll be a challenge all right," she said with a short laugh. She then gave him a pat on the shoulder as she started to walk by, along with a small wink to Clemont and a wave to Trevor. "Sorry I can't meet your other friends right now. I need to get going. I've got homework and a challenger tomorrow."

As she started to walk towards the doors, only Trevor having said goodbye while Serena and Clemont stood still with red faces, Ash stepped forward, confusion on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Hopefully you'll get it by the next time we see each other," Korrina called back. "See ya!" With that, she pushed through the doors, disappearing from view.

"I think she got confused," Ash said, laughing and turning to Serena. "I think she thought you were saying you wanted to battle me."

Serena bit her lip, not knowing what to think, really. She had an idea about what Korrina was saying, but was that what had been making her feel so awkward. _Was Shauna right? Do I..._

"Korrina's pretty cool," Trevor said, taking Serena away from her thoughts. "She was telling me some interesting stuff about her Lucario. There's a lot more to mega evolution than I thought, and according to her, she's not even an expert."

"Yeah, she is pretty," Clemont whispered quietly, looking somewhat distracted. His eyes suddenly widened when everyone looked at him. "Pretty cool," he corrected himself. "Pretty cool."

"Well what she said is pretty interesting," Ash muttered, looking like he was the only one who didn't notice Clemont's little word slip up. "About the IPL..."

"What was that?" Trevor asked, as Ash stared at the ground, thinking.

"We know two of the schools we'll be battling against. Shalour College and Laverre University. And we know they'll be tough to beat, since Korrina's with one, and the other almost won the Championship." Ash's voice was full of excitement. "I can't wait. This is gonna be so much fun."

"Well I still have to worry about tryouts before anything else," Serena reminded him.

"Oh yeah, Marie said she knows the schedule for tomorrow. Nurse Joy was apparently talking to Fantina about it earlier," Trevor told her, pointing over to Marie."

At that, Ash and Clemont quickly got their pokeballs ready and handed them, along with Pikachu and Rowlet, to Nurse Joy, who was returning with Trevor's Pokemon. Once she took the Pokemon, Serena led the group over towards their other friends, and they quickly got seated, just getting to hear the end of a story about Tierno's dancing earning him a gym badge.

"Hopefully that dancing comes in handy tomorrow, Tierno," Dawn said confidently, "although you shouldn't expect to beat me when we face off."

"What? You're battling tomorrow?" Ash asked in surprise, although he sounded quite excited as well.

"Yeah, I heard Fantina talking about some of the matches," Marie told him. "I...uh...looked at her schedule as well."

Dawn shrugged, clearly thinking it didn't matter. "We don't know the people we'll be facing, other than each other. It'll only make our battle better since we know."

"There's just a bit of bad news, though," Shauna muttered, looking at Serena with disappointment. "You and I have our Freestyle Performance at the same time as their battle. We won't get to see each other in action. I guess you guys would rather watch a battle than see us perform, huh?" she mumbled sadly.

"That's all right," Serena said, smiling at the group. "I'd like to have seen it, but we'll see you guys eventually. And I understand if you all want to watch the Contest Battles instead," she told the group.

Trevor was the first to speak up, looking a little guilty. "It's not that I don't want to see the Performance, but I'd really like to see Tierno's first big Contest Battle."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to see how a true Contest Battle works as well," Clemont said, glancing down apologetically.

"Well you know I'll be here," Marie said, a little sadly. "I'd love to see both, though. Hopefully once the IPL starts."

Serena nodded, having expected the responses. Contests were something different, so she didn't blame Trevor and Clemont for their interest. She noticed Ash hadn't said anything, though, and wondered what he would do. "Ash?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

He looked back, looking somewhat confused. "Oh, sorry, I thought you knew that I'd be coming to watch you. I told you I'd like to see you perform, right?"

 _Maybe Shauna was right_ , Serena thought, as she smiled, turning towards her smirking friend. _Too bad she knows it_.

* * *

"All right, Raichu, do a movin' and groovin' Focus Blast and fire it forward with Thunderbolt!" Tierno shouted, snapping his fingers and twirling around in sync with his Raichu. Dawn giggled as Chimchar mimicked his trainer in front of their group, bumping into Mudkip who tried to copy the fire type. Meanwhile, Raichu was launching its attack, before charging up its cheeks and firing the bolt of electricity into the Focus Blast. It created a spinning ball of electricity which exploded against the opposing Sneasel. The Sharp Claw Pokemon was thrown back, crashing hard into the ground in front of its trainer.

Dawn and her friends all looked up to the point counters, cheering as Tierno's opponent lost his remaining points, leaving Tierno the victor, still with over half of his points. Tierno and Raichu did an excited victory dance, while Sneasel was recalled to its pokeball, and Tierno's victory was declared.

"Wow, Tierno's done a great job today," Shauna said excitedly, looking at Dawn hopefully, as though seeking confirmation from the Coordinator.

"Yeah, I didn't think he'd win his first four matches so easily," Dawn said, laughing as she looked at the updated standings for the competing coordinators.

Today, they'd found out that ten coordinators would be competing, and that each would battle five times. The two with the most remaining points would take the two Coordinator slots on the Performance Team. So far, Dawn had dominated her first four matches, all but clinching her spot on the team. Meanwhile, with Tierno's latest win, he was in third place, however, the trainer in second had already completed their matches. If Tierno managed to hold at least a quarter of his points in his final match, he would join Dawn, and hopefully Serena and Shauna, on the Performance Team.

The only problem was that his final match was against Dawn. She was almost tempted to throw the match, but knew she couldn't do that. She'd become good friends with Tierno, but as much as she wanted him on the team, she knew he had to earn it. Besides, she doubted he would want the spot to be gifted to him. He was clearly enjoying the challenge, and had been thriving under the pressure of the newer style of battling in front of a large crowd.

"So now it's you and Tierno," Ash murmured from his spot next to Dawn. His eyes were on the celebrating Tierno and Raichu, but Dawn knew his focus was on her. "Well, we want Tierno on the team, but I'm sure he wants you to give it everything you've got. Give him a real battle, Dawn."

"No need to worry," Dawn assured Ash, now watching as Tierno shook hands with his opponent, and then headed over to the screen showing the standings. His excitement was obvious by his clenched fists and mini dance. "I know Tierno's tough, so I can give it all I have. His dancing seems to really mess with his opponents' movements."

"Yeah, he might not have brute strength or carefully planned out attacks, but Tierno is pretty good at getting his opponents off guard with his 'rhythm'." Ash laughed as a memory seemed to play before his eyes. "He definitely made it hard for his Kalos League opponents."

Dawn nodded, realizing that Tierno's previous battling success hadn't even crossed her mind. His style had been fitting the Contest format very well, so his success in the Kalos League was definitely not something to ignore. "I guess this is a good test for me as well. Maybe my training with you will help me out. I'll need to react quicker with Tierno."

"It should definitely be a great battle. Sorry that I won't be able to see it," Ash apologized, looking over towards where Serena was sitting with Shauna, the two performers talking excitedly about their final stage of the tryouts. Dawn wondered if Ash was consciously looking at Serena, or if there was anything else to it.

It was a little awkward for a moment, as Dawn waited for Ash to turn back to her, but a small cough snapped him out of his daze. "I'm glad Serena will have support," Dawn said, watching Ash closely, biting back a laugh. "You should be there for her."

"Yeah," Ash nodded, now looking over towards Tierno, who was making his way back to the group. "I'll be the most supportive one there, for sure."

"And for Shauna as well, of course," Dawn finally added, having to turn away for a moment to stop from laughing. When she looked back at Ash, he was embarrassedly scratching the back of his head.

"Uh...yeah, of course. I thought I said that. I'll support both of them." He managed to sort of recover himself, and then looked seriously at Dawn. "I'll support you guys too. Right, Pikachu?" he asked, looking up at the electric mouse on his shoulder.

"Chaaa," Pikachu squeaked out, looking quite excited about how everything was turning out. Just a little bit more, and the group would be together on the Lumiose University Battle and Performance teams. Their hard work so far was really paying off.

"Well what did you think about that match, guys?" Tierno suddenly called out, dancing his way over to stand in front of the group. "I've really got my groove going. Raichu and I had perfect rhythm." He looked excitedly at Dawn, eyes shining. "Don't let up in our battle, Dawn. I'm having a blast and I want to prove I really deserve to be on the team."

"You'll have your toughest battle yet," Dawn assured him. "If you want the second spot on the team, you need to show me everything you have, and I'll do the same."

"I really wish we could stay," Serena said, now standing up, along with Shauna. "You know I'd love to see you two battle."

"Don't worry, Serena," Tierno said, kneeling down in front of her and reaching for her hands, which quickly went behind her back, causing him to only grasp air. "Uh...I'll be winning this one for you, of course," Tierno finished, recovering himself.

"You don't need to be winning this for anyone but yourself," Shauna said, sounding a little irritated as she pulled Tierno to his feet and started pushing him back a bit. Dawn noticed her smirking a little as she stepped back. "Besides, Serena only wants-"

"Why don't we get going, Shauna?" Serena asked quickly, voice a little louder than usual. "We don't want to be late," she muttered, looking a little embarrassed as everyone looked at her.

"Yeah, let's get going," Ash agreed, jumping to his feet and looking at Dawn, then Tierno. "Good luck, you two. I know you'll do great. Bring out the best Coordinator in each other. I know you'll make it, Tierno. And Dawn, I know you'll make it his toughest challenge."

"You bet, Ash," Tierno said proudly, thumping his chest with his fist. "I'm making this team for sure."

With that, the group gave their good luck wishes to Shauna and Serena, telling Ash to make sure he cheered them on. The trio left with everyone having full confidence that when they saw one another again, they'd all be on the school teams. The best trainers that Lumiose University had to offer.

While they waited for the final match, Tierno and Trevor sat together to watch some more battles, while Dawn and Clemont stepped outside into the lobby. Clemont had his Turtwig out, and while it seemed to be behaving fairly well, Dawn knew it was probably good that Clemont gave the grass type a chance to move around. "What did you think of those Contest battles, Turtwig?" Clemont asked, looking down at his Pokemon, who seemed to be sniffing the air in search of food.

"Twig," Turtwig responded, after another moment of sniffing. "Tur-turtwig," he nodded, looking quite pleased, before returning to his sniffing.

"Maybe you need to give contests a shot, Clemont," Dawn said jokingly. "Turtwig's energy would probably come in handy."

"Yeah," Clemont said with a short laugh, pulling out a pokepuff that Serena had given him. He knelt down and gave it to Turtwig, who swallowed it whole, and then stood back up. "Turtwig could probably fight a regular battle and a Contest battle back to back and still have energy to find food."

"Well in a Contest, the Pokemon is the star, so I'm sure his energy would really impress the judges," Dawn said, laughing as she watched Turtwig sit down, apparently deciding not to make Clemont chase after him while he searched for food.

Clemont nodded, fiddling with his glasses as he looked at Turtwig. "Maybe I'll try it out at some point. I know Professor Sycamore mentioned that the school might have its own Contest during the school year, so maybe we can all try it out then."

"I'd be interested in seeing how Serena and Shauna would do with that," Dawn said, remembering as she watched Serena's pseudo Contest battle for the screening tests. "Serena looked amazing when I saw her battle the first time. I bet Shauna's pretty good as well. Performing definitely isn't just for looking pretty, is it?"

Clemont laughed at that. "Yeah, their Pokemon can look pretty fierce sometimes."

"It's inspired me to be better," Dawn admitted, clenching her fists as she thought of how much work she still had to do, but more so out of excitement than nervousness. "I see how hard Ash has worked with battling, and I sometimes think it's different for me, because I'm a Coordinator. Then, I see Serena and Shauna, and they're managing to adapt to different styles of training. I know that I have to keep pushing myself. I need to be able to learn from more than just coordinating."

"Well it's probably a good thing you've got this battle against Tierno, then," Clemont said thoughtfully. "He's adapting to coordinating very well, but I can still see that he can switch up the style he battles with. He caught a couple of his opponents off guard here by using some pretty basic attacks that would normally only be used in a regular battle."

"I'm not going to make this easy on him. I need to make sure I'm ready for making it onto this team as well. Tierno's gotta earn this," Dawn said seriously, narrowing her eyes.

Clemont looked like he was about to answer, but just then, an announcement came on, calling out to everyone in the lobby. "The final match of the tryouts will begin momentarily. Dawn and Tierno, please report to your specified battlefield."

"Well, I guess we'd better get going," Dawn said, leading the way into the battlefield while Clemont quickly picked up his Turtwig and followed after her. When they entered, Dawn could see Tierno already making his way to his spot, while the screen at the end of the battlefield showed both their pictures, along with the counters for points, along with their current rankings. Dawn was in first place, and had no chance of losing her spot, but she still felt as though this was her most important match of the day. In a way, she controlled who would be on the Performance Team. If she put everything into this battle, and Tierno couldn't keep up, he wouldn't make it. If she let up, and he fought well, he' _would_ make it. She wanted the dream outcome, though. Both of them at their best, with Tierno managing to get onto the team, and her making it as hard as possible.

When Dawn finally made it to her spot, she noticed Tierno looking across at her, a pokeball in his hand, doing a mini dance, either from nerves, or just to "get his groove going". Dawn's eyes then shifted over to the crowd of students at the sidelines, noticing as Clemont sat down next to Trevor, Turtwig, sitting next to Mudkip and Chimchar. Professor Sycamore was making his way to the centre of the sidelines, as he was apparently the one who would be calling the match, with Fantina at the performances.

Once Sycamore had taken his place, he looked at Tierno, and then Dawn. "This is the final Contest battle of the Coordinator tryouts for the Performance Team. Dawn, you have earned enough points so that you will qualify regardless, but Tierno, you need to hold on to at least twenty-five percent of your points if you wish to qualify. This will be a five minute battle, with one Pokemon each. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready," Dawn announced, holding up her pokeball and looking straight ahead at Tierno. "I'm not making this easy on you, Tierno. We can't have you on the team if you need to be gifted the spot."

"That's exactly how I want it," Tierno called back, spinning around as he prepared to throw his pokeball. "So I'm going with my best. Go Blastoise!" he shouted, throwing out the pokeball, which spun through the air and opened up, revealing Blastoise, already spinning like his trainer, before they both stopped and did a bow.

Dawn narrowed here eyes, throwing out her own pokeball. "Piplup! Spotlight!" As soon as the light flashed, revealing the Penguin Pokemon, he shot out a quick stream of bubbles from Bubble Beam into the air, and they exploded high in the air, creating a light shower of the sparkling water.

"An excellent entrance by both of our trainers!" Sycamore called out, as the crowd cheered. "And each of them have already lost a few points from the opening displays. Dawn quickly looked up, not even thinking about how she might have already lost points. It seemed that Tierno's entrance had been judged a little better, with Dawn losing about ten percent of her points, while Tierno lost about half as much. And now the clock was ticking.

"Blastoise, let's move and groove! Rapid Spin!" Tierno shouted, snapping his fingers and twirling around as Blastoise did the same, while withdrawing into his shell. As soon as Tierno stopped spinning, he thrust his arm forward, and Blastoise launched forward, spinning at full speed.

Dawn was ready for this, though, having anticipated Tierno using his battle experience to launch a quick attack. "Piplup, use Whirlpool and trap Blastoise!"

"I knew you'd try that. Blastoise, Ice Beam!" Tierno called out quickly.

Before Dawn could do anything, Piplup had already formed his swirling vortex of water. He seemed to think he could land the strike before Blastoise could react, and he threw it forward with all his might with a loud, "LUUUP!" Tierno's and Blastoise's strategy worked perfectly, though. As the Whirlpool rushed towards Blastoise, he continued to spin, but Dawn could just see the jagged, icy jet shooting out as he spun. As he made contact with the Whirlpool, Dawn's jaw dropped as immediately, the water began to freeze on contact with the Ice Beam "shield" Blastoise had created. Suddenly, the rapidly spinning Blastoise shot into the air, propelling himself into the middle of the Whirlpool, which became icier and icier the more he spun. Within a few seconds, it was a mini skating rink in the centre of the battlefield.

Dawn glanced up at the point counter and gritted her teeth as she noticed her points dropping. She needed to make a move quick. "Piplup, you use Ice Beam as well, and get Blastoise off balance!"

"Pip-LUP!" Piplup shouted proudly, kicking off the ground hard, and shooting into the air. With a loud shout, he fired off his own icy jet of energy, which struck the centre of the frozen Whirlpool. He quickly fired off the Ice Beam a few more times as he descended. When he hit the ground, Dawn quickly looked up towards the Whirlpool, and pumped her fist as she saw Blastoise crash into an ice pillar that Piplup had formed.

"Now, Drill Peck! Use the ice to speed up!" Dawn ordered, deciding not to look at the counter, preferring to focus on the match.

"Lup!" Piplup shouted again, leaping up again and landing on the ice with his flippers folded. He sped forward, rushing towards Blastoise at full speed. Meanwhile, Blastoise had just crashed into another ice pillar, this time getting off balance enough to stop and emerged from his shell, shaking his head in pain. This opened up the perfect opportunity for Piplup, who kicked off the ground just as he approached Blastoise, his beak glowing and extending. He struck Blastoise hard in the chest, sending the Shellfish Pokemon staggering back to the edge of the Whirlpool.

"Knock him off with Bubble Beam!" Dawn shouted, punching the air in triumph. She was really proud with how she was doing so far.

Tierno and Blastoise had no chance to counter. Blastoise could only look in shock as the barrage of bubbles struck him hard. It wasn't a super effective attack, but it did just enough to push him off the edge of the frozen Whirlpool. He fell back, and crashed hard to the ground below, crying out in pain.

Dawn decided to quickly glance at the scoreboard, and noticed she was now well ahead, with a little under three quarters of her points remaining, while Tierno was just below half. She felt bad, as she knew she was hurting his chances at making the team, but she knew he didn't want her to let up, so she was going to give it everything she had.

"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!" Tierno shouted suddenly. Dawn's eyes widened as she noticed the frozen Whirlpool begin to shake, and Piplup looking stunned from up top. A few seconds later, the massive piece of ice was shot into the air, carried by the massive jets of water shooting out of Blastoise's cannons. Just as it looked like the ice was going to be sent into the ceiling, it exploded, sending icy chunks flying all over the battlefield, Piplup desperately trying to dodge them while he fell to the ground, and Blastoise expertly dancing to avoid any on his side.

"Wow, and Tierno closes the gap quite quickly with a display of strength and graceful dancing from Blastoise," Sycamore called out, while Dawn glanced at the scoreboard again. Sycamore was right, as her lead had now been cut in half. She had to be more careful.

Dawn paused a moment as the remaining pieces of ice fell to the ground, and Piplup stood, recovering. There were tons of ice chunks scattered across the field. Maybe she could use them to her advantage. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam and send those ice chunks at Blastoise," she ordered quickly.

"Lup!" Piplup answered, inhaling deeply before beginning his attack.

"This is easy for us," Tierno called out, snapping his fingers as he and Blastoise began to dance. "Dodge that ice with your rhythm!"

Dawn clenched her fists in frustration as Piplup launched his attacks. Piece after piece of ice was easily dodged, including some that looked sure to hit. Piplup eventually got so frustrated that he sent a Bubble Beam straight at Blastoise, desperate to hit the larger water type.

"Now, Hydro Cannon!" Tierno shouted confidently.

"TOISE!" Blastoise roared, stopping his dancing immediately and aiming his cannons. As the stream of bubbles rushed towards him, he roared once more and fired off the powerful jets of water. Within seconds the attack reached the bubbles, quickly overpowering them. Dawn could only watch in horror as Piplup was struck head on, the powerful water attack taking him off his feet and sending him soaring back, right past Dawn and into the wall behind her.

Dawn was stunned, turning towards Piplup who was slowly sliding down the wall, looking very dizzy. He was still in the fight, though, which she was relieved about. She cast a quick glance up towards the scoreboard and noticed that Tierno had now managed to take the lead, as he still had a little less than half, while Dawn had a little over one third of her points.

"Tierno's had a strong comeback here. Dawn needs to come back with a strong move here if she wants to recover her lead," Sycamore called out, while the crowd cheered.

"Piplup, you ready to continue?" Dawn asked, still concerned for her loyal partner.

"Pip-piplup!" Piplup answered confidently, thumping his chest with his flipper and running over to stand in front of his trainer.

"Good, then let's get this match back on track. Use Ice Beam on the ground in front of Blastoise," Dawn ordered quickly, pointing ahead.

Piplup nodded immediately. "Lup!" he shouted, before inhaling deeply and firing out the icy jet. It struck the ground, immediately covering it in ice, creating a small path from Piplup to Blastoise.

Tierno laughed, as though he was happy with Dawn's move. _Good, he's falling into my trap,_ Dawn thought as Tierno laughed. "Blastoise, use a groovin' Rapid Spin and use that ice to hit Piplup one last time."

"All right, Piplup, charge forward using Drill Peck. Dodge Blastoise and get him off his rhythm!" Dawn shouted, winking at Piplup when he looked back at her, hoping he understood what she was saying.

"Piplup!" Piplup shouted, nodding and folding his flippers while Blastoise withdrew into his shell. Both Pokemon then kicked off hard, one hitting the ice on his small belly, while the other did so within his shell. The ice sent them both forward at an increased speed and Dawn clenched her fists, seeing Piplup's beak extending, hoping he was about to execute her plan. Then, just as he was halfway to Blastoise, Dawn could see chunks of ice shooting up from beneath him, and she knew he was doing what she'd wanted.

Then, a moment later, Blastoise and Piplup were just about to collide. Dawn winced, almost thinking Piplup was going too slow to get out of the way, but he was still able to manage it, getting a small little cheer out of his trainer as he leaped up, spinning to the side, and landed to the right of the ice path, sliding along the ground unharmed. Dawn then watched in triumph as Blastoise hit the trap, his "rhythm" completely disrupted as he spun along the ice that Piplup had chopped up with Drill Peck, suddenly coming to a stop, completely vulnerable.

"Now use Drill Peck!" Dawn shouted, Piplup already running forward, knowing she was about to make an order. His beak glowed in a bright, white light and extended forward as he ran, and Blastoise wasn't moving, still attempting to spin along the chopped up ice. Piplup struck him with everything he had, managing to somehow send the large Shellfish Pokemon up into the air, before crashing down again.

Dawn looked up towards the scoreboard again, seeing Tierno's points now at the point where it was make or break for him. He had a little over one quarter left. If he lost anymore, he'd likely not make the team. Meanwhile, Dawn was still at her same score, a little ahead.

"I'm not done yet, Dawn!" Tierno called out confidently. "Blastoise, hit Piplup with Ice Beam!"

Dawn gasped as Blastoise emerged from his shell, looking angry about the attack that had sent him crashing to the ground like that. He aimed his gaze towards Piplup, and fired out a powerful icy jet which struck the Penguin Pokemon head on. "Luuup!" Piplup shouted, skidding back as the attack hit him.

"Now finish with Rapid Spin!" Tierno shouted, spinning around in sync with Blastoise as the latter withdrew into his shell.

Dawn winced as Blastoise launched forward, reaching Piplup within seconds. The Penguin Pokemon cried out in pain, flying back and crashing to the ground when the attack hit. He seemed to struggle to get back up for a moment, and then fell to the ground, not moving.

 _BZZZ!_

"And Piplup is unable to battle!" Sycamore called out, sounding surprised. "With that, Tierno and Blastoise are the winners and Tierno qualifies, along with Dawn, to be a Coordinator on the Lumiose University Performance Team!"

 _I lost_ , Dawn realized as she stared at Piplup. _I wasn't strong enough._

* * *

"Ivysaur, Sweet Scent! Flabebe, Fairy Wind!" Shauna's voice called out, spinning around and pointing ahead towards the crowd as she made the order.

"Saur!" Ivysaur cried out, a pink dust shooting out from the bulb on her back. Flabebe acted extremely quickly swooping over to hover behind Ivysaur, and then blasting outward with her own dusty, pink attack.

The crowd gasped, and Ash and Pikachu cheered loudly, as the theatre was hit with a blast of propelled Sweet Scent. The Fairy Wind spread it out, carrying it across the crowd, and treated everyone to their favourite sweet scents of nature. Ash could smell all kinds of things, but most of all, he felt he could smell the scents of freshly baked pokepuffs with the freshest berries. He now completely understood the reasoning for Shauna using Sweet Scent when she was in the baking competition.

"That was great, wasn't it Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking at the electric mouse in the spot next to him, which they were saving for Shauna once her performance was done. "Serena said Shauna was good, but I didn't know she was that good. These performances are awesome!"

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, before sniffing the air once more with the Sweet Scent fading. "Chaaa," he squeaked out once more, sighing contentedly.

Ash was obviously disappointed that he wasn't able to see the battle between Dawn and Tierno, but he had to admit, these performances had been very enjoyable so far. Shauna's alone would have been enough for Ash to be excited, but they'd all been pretty good, and he knew Serena's would be great. From what he'd seen her practising the week before, he wouldn't be surprised if her performance managed to top even Shauna's.

 _She was in perfect sync with her Pokemon_ , Ash remembered, imagining the scene of Serena commanding her trio of Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon. Ash was even more excited to see the final product of her performance after seeing a few today. He was enjoying seeing yet another unique way for trainers and Pokemon to work together. Sometimes he forgot about some of the other paths, amidst his training for his own goal. He was glad that Serena and Shauna had a dream that could push them forward like this.

"And with zat, Shauna has earned enough points to be ze first member of ze Performance team!" Fantina's voice suddenly announced, bringing Ash's attention back to the stage. He could see Shauna looking somewhere backstage, and he assumed Serena was calling out a congratulations. A moment later, Shauna looked up to Ash, and he gave a quick thumbs up, while Pikachu did a little fist bump. "Now," Fantina continued, after the cheering quieted, "we must continue with ze performances so zat we may find our next Performer. Ze lovely Serena has ze lead, but ze day is not over."

As Shauna made her way off stage, and Fantina moved off to the side, another Performer made her way to centre stage. Ash felt pretty bad for her, as he noticed she was kind of nervous to be following Shauna, but she seemed to recover as her Growlithe and Litleo stood confidently in front of her. As Ash watched the performance, he knew it wasn't going to be enough to top Serena's lead, but he was glad to see that the Performer looked quite pleased as she left the stage with her Pokemon, clearly happy with how she performed.

Another Performer took the stage after that, but just as it started, Shauna was making her way down the row Ash was in. Pikachu hopped onto his lap, as Shauna sat down in the empty seat, looking exhausted. "That was tiring," she breathed out, watching the performance down below. "Did you like it?" she asked after a few moments.

"Yeah, I thought it was awesome!" Ash exclaimed, exchanging a happy glance with Pikachu. "I'm glad I'm here to see all this."

"Hehe, thanks Ash," Shauna said, glancing at the side of the stage, where Ash assumed each Performer waited before going on. "Serena's really glad you came, you know?"

"I told her I would," Ash said, not sure why Shauna would be bringing this up. "I would've liked to see Dawn and Tierno battle, but you two need support as well. Besides, these performances are pretty cool. I've already got some ideas I can use for battles."

Shauna sighed, almost like she was frustrated, but then she just smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty fun. Just you wait, though. If you liked my performance, Serena's is going to completely blow you away. She really should've won the Masterclass."

"If she'd won, I wouldn't have been able to meet her," Ash muttered, surprising himself with his words. "Do you think she wishes she did win?"

"I don't know," Shauna answered, shrugging. "I think she was disappointed at the time, but like she said the other day, she's happy to be here. I think she's happy to have met everyone here. Especially...someone." She smirked at Ash, almost as though expecting him to understand some kind of joke.

"Who's that?" Ash asked, wondering who Serena could be so happy to have met. He assumed it was a teacher, since other than Shauna, Serena probably spent most of her time with Ash than the others.

"He's kind of dense," Shauna said, rolling her eyes. "That's all I can say."

Ash just shrugged, deciding not to push it any further. Instead, he watched as the performance on stage finished up, before Fantina took the stage to introduce the next Performer. "All right ladies and gentlemen, let us please welcome ze lovely Serena! With a dazzling performance, she can put herself onto ze Lumiose University Performance Team!" Serena came out looking quite confident, waving to the crowd and standing at centre stage proudly. She was wearing some kind of red flower Florges kimono dress. The sides were red, while it had a cream colour at the centre, and a green skirt and boots. In her hair, was a little headband with a yellow flower in it. Ash didn't usually notice these things, but he had to admit that Serena looked good. The realization that he was thinking that made him shift uncomfortably in his seat, but he decided cheering would make things more comfortable.

"Yeah! Go Serena!" Ash cheered loudly, standing up as he did so, Pikachu leaping up onto his shoulder to join in. A moment later, Rowlet shot out of Ash's backpack, landing on Ash's other shoulder and hooted along with the cheering.

"You didn't cheer like that for me," Shauna said accusingly as Ash sat back down. He looked back at her, somewhat in fear, but was relieved when Shauna just laughed and shook her head. "I'm kidding. Besides...you _should_ cheer loudly for Serena."

"You bet I will!" Ash assured her, looking back towards the stage. "You can do this, Serena," he whispered, clenching his fists as he leaned forward to watch.

Serena seemed to be getting herself mentally prepared on stage, as Fantina stepped out of the way and the crowd grew quiet. Then, Serena pulled out two pokeballs and threw them into the air. "Come on out, Sylveon and Pancham!"

As Serena's two Pokemon emerged, Ash turned to Shauna, confused about Serena's choices. "Why wouldn't she go with Braixen. Isn't Braixen the best she has?"

Shauna looked a little unsure herself, but shrugged it off, clearly not too bothered by it. "Well, Serena knows her Pokemon better than anyone. If she trusts Sylveon and Pancham to do well for her, then I do as well."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. They definitely look ready!" Ash said, turning his attention back to the stage, just in time to see Serena call out her first order.

"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind! Pancham, jump up!" Serena called out, twirling around almost like Tierno, although Ash thought Serena was a little more graceful. She danced betwee Sylveon and Pancham as the former aimed her feelers up into the air, Pancham leaping up above her. With a soft cry, Sylveon launched forth the pink, dusty wind, and it carried Pancham high into the air. "Now, spin and hit the ground with Stone Edge!"

"Cham!" Pancham shouted, sounding quite pleased as he somersaulted through the air, heading for the front of the stage. Ash was amazed at how comfortable he seemed. He was quite high up, and moving at a fairly fast speed.

As Pancham started to approach his spot, Serena quickly danced her way behind Sylveon, and then pointed ahead. "Sylveon, forward and use Protect!" she called out, her command more like a pleasant greeting than the battle cries Ash was used to.

"Veon!" Sylveon called out, gracefully running forward and bowing low as Pancham struck the ground hard with his fist. Suddenly, massive, crystallized stones began shooting up, going in a straight line towards Sylveon. However, just as it looked like Sylveon would be hit, a turquoise barrier was struck instead, the stone exploding as it made contact, shooting large blue crystals into the air, which glittered in the lights from the stage.

"Now, Fairy Wind!" Serena called out, running forward, not making a sound with her soft steps. Ash's eyes widened as she leaped up over Sylveon, just as the pink wind was sent upwards. Serena was suddenly flying into the air, carried up by Fairy Wind, twirling through the crystals that were carried up with her. "Keep it up Sylveon, and Pancham, hit the crystals with Dark Pulse!"

"Pancham-pan!" Pancham shouted, carefully aiming his attack, and then firing the swirling jet of black and purple energy. It struck a crystal underneath Serena, and Ash was worried it would cause a piece to hit her, but instead, it exploded into light, blue dust, which mixed with the pink wind of Fairy Wind, emitting gasps of pleasure from the crowd. Pancham continued to hit the floating chunks of crystals, while Serena seemed to fly through it all, as Sylveon increased and decreased the power of Fairy Wind.

"She's amazing," Ash whispered, watching closely as Sylveon finally brought Serena down, and the blue dust from the crystals rained down in a shower of sparkles. "There's no way she could've lost. Nobody can be better than this."

"I agree," Shauna said, also mystified by the performance. Serena was now dancing with Sylveon, while Pancham cartwheeled around the two. "She seems even better than at the Masterclass, and even then, she was incredible." Shauna giggled a little, causing Ash to briefly glance towards her. "I bet she'll love hearing how much you've liked her performance."

"I'll tell her myself," Ash said, turning back to look at the stage, as Sylveon leaped forward, and Serena slid back. "I'd love to learn more about this kind of thing. This could be used in a battle if you know what you're doing."

Ash watched, almost shaking, as Serena pointed forward, Pancham cartwheeling past her. "Pancham, centre stage!" she called out. Pancham quickly straightened out, leaping into centre stage, and then Serena quickly made her next order. "On your back and use Dark Pulse while spinning!"

"Cham!" Pancham shouted, quickly dropping onto his back and twisting his body around with all his might until he was rapidly spinning. Then, a moment later, the swirling black and purple jet fired out, creating a little tornado of black energy with little gaps where some of the remaining bits of blue dust still remained.

"Now, Sylveon, use Swift and aim for the centre of the Dark Pulse!" Serena called out, pointing to where she wanted the attack to hit.

"Veon!" Sylveon cried out, bowing low and then firing out a few golden stars. They sped towards the Dark Pulse tornado, and Ash was amazed as they entered in the small gaps, and then began crashing around within the tornado. Pancham suddenly leaped back, releasing his own attack, and everyone watched in silence as the tornado spun around like a top, the stars of Swift crashing around inside it.

It wasn't as elegant as Serena dancing in the air among the blue and pink dust, but Ash was amazed at the power this part of the performance showed. Each time the stars from Swift hit the edge of the tornado, a loud buzzing sound could be heard, and gold, purple and black sparks would shoot out into the air.

Finally, after a few moments, Serena seemed ready to wrap it up. "Now, Fairy Wind and Dark Pulse! Let's wrap this up!"

"Syl!"

"Pan!"

The attacks exploded against the tornado of black and purple energy, creating a black cloud on stage. For a moment, Ash was worried the act had gone completely wrong, but then suddenly, gold and purple sparks began shooting up, almost like fireworks, and the smoke suddenly began to change colour, becoming pink from Sylveon's Fairy Wind. As it dissipated, Serena could be seen at the centre of the stage, Pancham and Sylveon at her sides. When it was finally settled, they bowed, their performance complete.

"Great job, Serena!" Ash yelled out, waving his arms, hoping she'd look up. And when she did, and felt his heart beating furiously. She looked so happy to see Ash and Shauna cheering for her, that Ash knew that he would have preferred nothing else than to be here at this performance. He was glad he could be here for her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, with zat magnifique display from ze lovely Serena, we have now selected our two performers for ze Performance Team!" Fantina called out, coming out onto the stage. "Shauna and Serena, congratulations and bonne chance!"

"Well, you may be on the Battle Team, Ash," Shauna said, as Ash finally looked away from the stage, "but I guess you'll be spending a lot of time with us performers as well. Maybe one in particular."

"Why wouldn't I spend time with you guys?" Ash asked, exchanging a quizzical look with Pikachu.

"You are so clueless..." Shauna muttered, standing up. "Let's go."

 **Author's Note:**

Straight to the point, Shauna...yet he still won't get it. Well quite a bit happened in this chapter. We got a little introduction to some other schools. A certain Gym Leader is smitten with another Gym Leader...possibly. Serena is realizing her feelings. Ash is, of course, clueless about his. We had Tierno overpower Dawn, and we had Serena dazzle the audience. I didn't think it would be that much...but somehow it was.

Originally, I wasn't going to have Korrina show up until...later, but I decided I might as well tease the other schools that will be involved. And obviously, Clemont gets a little eye candy. "Pretty...cool". Smooth.

Now, for this week, I have mighty plans. Do any of you remember Gotta Catch That One, now affectionately called GCTO? No? Oh well, I remember it. Ah, the good old days. You can expect a oneshot on that. Possibly as soon as tomorrow. Title: "Gotta Tell The News". It should be a fun bit of fluff. And then, obviously, I hope to work on Lumiose University and have another chapter done reasonably soon. "Reasonable" meaning 2-3 days. See you next time and happy holidays since I didn't get a chance to say it while they were on. You guys made 2016 a fun year for me, so thanks for that. And...bye for now.


	16. Friendship, Trust and Inspiration

**Author's Note:**

Me and my delays. Sorry about that. Things should still be picking up over the next few weeks, though. So much to do with this story...and others.

But the chapter! That's what you're here for. This one was a tough one. The main thing in this chapter was originally going to come later on, but I decided it was better to add it in earlier, and let things go from there. It might be a bit of a jarring new plot point, but I think it'll work well as we go along. So...hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 16: Friendship, Trust and Inspiration**

Humans were never a good thing. The Pokemon currently sitting in a tiny cage in the back of a truck would never think otherwise. He had no reason to. He had never done any harm to humans, yet now he was a prisoner of one. The owner of this truck, the one who had locked him in this cage, had attacked him out of nowhere.

"Sol..." the Pokemon growled, remembering the day of his capture. It was so long ago now. A year ago? Two? He had no idea. All he knew, was that he'd done nothing wrong. He'd been minding his own business, wandering the hills around Shalour City. In fact, he'd been performing his duty, a duty expected of those of his kind. A duty done for these humans.

A large storm had been approaching the city, and with it, this Pokemon could sense great peril for the humans living there. He'd seen ships with fishermen perishing in the violent waters brought by the storm. His senses had told him to warn the city.

However, there was a human that had no interest in the matter. The Pokemon had been approaching the city on that fateful day, but on his way, a man had stopped him. The man had seemed like no threat to the Pokemon at first, and he'd attempted to pass by, however at that moment, he'd been surrounded, a Golbat and Seviper on either side.

The Pokemon had been violently attacked, even falling off a high cliff and landing on his back legs far below. The man and his Golbat and Seviper had quickly followed, finding the Pokemon at the bottom of the cliff, legs bent so awkwardly beneath him. He could still feel the excruciating pain. The Pokemon knew, even now, that he would never walk right again. He would never run again, feeling the wind rushing through his white fur. Even if he could escape from his captor, what could he do? He couldn't fend for himself in the wild any longer, and he had no faith that a human would help him. His life had ended the day his legs had broken.

"Ab...sol..." the Pokemon sighed, squirming in his small cage, feeling sharp pains in his back legs as he moved. His stomach growled loudly, only making the discomfort worse. He hadn't eaten in the past two days. He'd barely done more than shift around in this cage.

He remembered what his captor had said a few days back. "I finally found a chump who's willing to pay up for you," he'd said, kicking Absol in the side as he'd tried to sleep in the small shed that had been his living quarters since his capture. "We're off to Lumiose City in a couple of days, and I can finally get rid of you. Good thing, too, since you're a useless, crippled waste of space."

And the Pokemon did not fondly remember his final days at his captor's home. The abuse he was so used to was only increased. He'd been kicked, fed even less, yelled at. It had been quite the sendoff from his old "home".

The Pokemon had no idea what would happen to him once they reached Lumiose City and this human who was "buying" him. If his current captor was to be believed, nothing good was going to come of it. The Pokemon couldn't help but let fear grip his heart as he thought of what new tortures awaited him. He was so scared. He just wanted peace. He wanted a friend. He didn't want to suffer this pain anymore.

Suddenly, he felt the truck come to a stop, his body sliding at the jarring halt. The pain in his legs flared up, and he shut his eyes tight, desperate to hide his pain as the back of the truck opened up, and his captor came inside.

"All right, you waste of space, it's time to get rid of you," the man yelled out, laughing.

The Pokemon opened his eyes, looking past the man, to the unfamiliar sight behind him. There was a large tower that seemed to touch the clouds in the sky. Many buildings surrounded it, and the Pokemon could hear the sounds of many people and cars. It was a terrifying place, but the Pokemon suddenly felt emboldened. He could hide among the chaos of this busy city. If he could escape...

"What are you staring at?" the man suddenly yelled, startling the Pokemon as he realized his captor was in front of him. Within a second, the door of the cage was opened, and the man was delivering a hard kick to the Pokemon's side. "You're not getting saved here. You're gonna wish you were still with me once you've got this new owner." He stared at the Pokemon a few moments, and then turned around and wandered further into the truck, seemingly searching for something and laughing to himself.

The Pokemon realized in that moment, that he had one chance, and only the one. He had to go, and he had to do it now. His legs could move, even if only slightly, and he only had to get into the city. And what did he have to lose?

Slowly, very slowly, the Pokemon started to squirm out of the opened cage, inch by inch. Eventually, he was out, his captor still not noticing. The Pokemon slowly stood up, his back legs feeling like they were breaking all over again. He had to go now, before the pain and fear overwhelmed him.

"Sol," he grunted out, doing his best run as he moved forward towards the back of the truck. He quickly jumped off the back, feeling a crack in one of his legs as he landed on the ground, but still able to stand.

"Hey! Get back here!" the man suddenly shouted, as the Pokemon began moving.

"Sol!" the Pokemon shouted, tilting his head, looking at the doors of the truck, and the swinging his head back and forth. Two glowing, pink crescent-shaped projectiles fired forth, hitting each door, causing them to slam shut. The Pokemon smirked to himself, hearing a loud thud as one of the doors seemed to hit the man and knock him down.

Now it was time to run. The Pokemon knew he couldn't move quickly, but he had to try. He had to fight through the pain and find a safe place to hide. He wouldn't let another human hurt him again. He doubted he could ever trust one.

* * *

"The performances were awesome!" Ash almost shouted, making Dawn wince a little and look around in embarrassment as students around the dining hall stared at him. "I've got so many ideas that I can use in my battles. And Serena and Shauna were awesome. I do some crazy things with my battles, but I don't think even I could be as creative as them."

"Of course you could," Serena argued, before turning to Dawn. "Besides, my Performance actually had a bit of help from Dawn. The spinning Dark Pulse from Pancham was the same move she used with Piplup in her screening battle."

"What did Fantina call that?" Ash asked, tapping his chin while he thought. "Counter...something."

"Counter Shield," Serena finished, smiling at Dawn. "I thought it was a really good move to use for a Performance. I don't know how I'd ever be able to use it in a battle, but it was really amazing how you pulled it off."

Dawn shrugged, smiling awkwardly at the compliment. "I'm glad you were able to make use of it. When Piplup and I came up with it, it was just kind of out of nowhere, so we never really thought of it being a special move. I just decided to use it in the screening battle, because I was sort of stuck and didn't have another option."

"Well both of you did a great job with it," Shauna chimed in, Ash nodding in agreement. "But what about the battle between you and Tierno? We didn't get to hear too much about that yesterday? I'm surprised you managed to pull it off, Tierno," she said, turning to look at him.

"Hey, it's not like I'm a rookie trainer. And my dancing style fits with coordinating pretty well," Tierno complained, folding his arms a little angrily.

"Tierno did a great job," Dawn said, trying to sound upbeat about it, but feeling a pit in her stomach as she remembered the battle. "He was too strong. Piplup and I just couldn't keep up." She noticed Ash looking at her like he noticed she was faking her enthusiasm, but ignored him and continued. "Maybe I was a bit too confident, but Tierno deserves full credit. He earned that win."

Tierno smiled proudly, looking around the table like he was daring anyone to tell him he didn't deserve the win. "Thanks, Dawn," he finally said. "You know, I did feel pretty good in that battle. Blastoise and I were in perfect sync. I think we'll be just fine once the IPL starts up. And I'm sure you'll bounce back as well."

"Yeah, and you know, Tierno, Dawn was a big reason why you two beat Serena and I," Ash said, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes as he looked at Tierno. "Don't expect it to go the same way the next time you two battle."

"Maybe we should think about how we'll be teammates rather than any future battles with each other," Serena pointed out, gently pulling Ash back so he was back in his seat. After a few moments of silence, while the group continued to eat their breakfast, Serena turned back to Ash, looking curious. "Hey Ash, didn't you say Professor Sycamore wanted to meet with you and Dawn?"

"Oh, right," Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, clearly having forgotten, even though Dawn remembered they'd both been told the night before. "He said he'd stop by here this morning." He glanced around, as though looking for the Mega Evolution expert. "Hopefully it's nothing bad," he finished, looking nervously at Dawn.

"Maybe it's something about Greninja," Clemont suggested, holding his chin as he thought. "Dawn mentioned seeing you and Greninja battle in Pallet Town. Maybe Professor Sycamore wants to know what she may have noticed."

Dawn shrugged, not really having any clue what it could be about, but she worried that if Sycamore did want to know what she may have seen while Ash and Greninja were battling, she couldn't provide anything. Really, by the end of it, everything was kind of blank for her, and she was just scared about what might have happened to both Ash and Greninja. It was somewhat of a traumatizing moment and it might have been worse if Professor Oak hadn't been there.

"Well, whatever it is," Ash said, shrugging as well, but more so because he was losing interest and was more interested in his food, "I guess we'll just have to deal with it. I wouldn't mind knowing more about Greninja's power, though. It's pretty frustrating these days."

"Looks like you'll be finding out soon enough," Shauna said, pointing towards the entrance of the dining hall when everyone at the table looked at her. Dawn turned around to see Professor Sycamore standing at the door, looking around, searching for her and Ash. Eventually, he caught sight of her, and waved, signalling for her and Ash to join him out in the lobby.

"I guess we'd better go see what it's about, Ash," Dawn said, looking at her friend, who was now stuffing the rest of his food in his mouth.

"Yeah," he managed to say, before taking another bite and struggling to swallow. "I'm coming...just a second." He took a couple of moments to continue shovelling food down his throat, and then after a bit of awkward choking, managed to jump up from his seat. "Okay, let's go," he said cheerfully, waving to the others at the table as he and Dawn set off towards Professor Sycamore.

When Dawn and Ash approached Professor Sycamore, he smiled, gesturing for them to come closer, as if thinking they hadn't seen him. "Hello Ash, Dawn," he greeted, as they came to a stop in front of him. "I hope you had a good breakfast."

"It was great!" Ash told him happily, rubbing his stomach and looking out across the dining hall. "The food here is always good. Much better than what I usually eat when I'm travelling." Dawn grimaced at that, not even wanting to know what Ash ate. She had a feeling he was not much of a cook. She wasn't either, but at least she knew a couple of things. With the way Ash ran around, she doubted he had much patience for that kind of thing.

"Yeah, it was great," Dawn added, when Ash finished talking about his massive breakfast. "Um...so Professor Sycamore, why is it you wanted to meet with us?"

Sycamore smirked, turning around and looking past the doors and into the lobby. "Why don't you two come out and see?"

Dawn exchanged a quizzical glance with Ash, before both shrugged and followed Sycamore out into the lobby. When they were out of the dining hall, Dawn couldn't help but sigh in relief as the doors closed behind her, muffling the sounds coming from the loud students inside. She then looked around the lobby, and was surprised to see Professor Sycamore walking forward to two people standing in front of the elevators. One was familiar, and Dawn smiled in greeting, as Agatha gave her and Ash a wave. The other was another older woman, with shorter, but also grey hair. She wore a black jacket and a red scarf, along with two golden earrings. As Dawn looked at her, she pulled off her sunglasses, which were likely only on because they'd just arrived, and then she gave Dawn a piercing look, as though testing her with her glare.

"She seems nice," Ash whispered sarcastically as they slowly made their way over. Dawn had to bite her lip to stop from laughing, but she had the feeling that the woman had picked up on Ash's remark, as her glare moved to him. "Um...hi," Ash greeted, waving as they finally came to a stop in front of the two teachers and this mysterious other woman.

"Hello Ash. Good to see you're up after what must have been some exhausting battles. You as well, Dawn," Agatha said kindly, smiling at the two trainers. Dawn smiled back, and again had to bite back a laugh. Agatha wasn't exactly the most enthusiastic of people, but compared to this other woman, she might've been a cheerleader.

"Where's Flint?" Ash asked, looking around, apparently trying to see if he was around.

"He's dealing with another matter at the moment," Agatha explained, exchanging a look with Professor Sycamore. "It should be no problem for him and his Infernape, though. He told me to tell you that he was quite impressed with your battles. They really were quite impressive."

"Those were some great battles, for sure," Ash told her pumping his fist and looking up at Pikachu on his shoulder. "We really enjoyed it, and we can't wait for more. The IPL is gonna be so much fun. I bet the performances and contests will be great as well. Serena was really amazing when I saw her yesterday. I've never seen anything like it."

"You're a friend of Miss Yvonne?" the woman next to Agatha asked suddenly, looking at Ash with a bit less hostility now. She actually seemed somewhat curious, and when Ash nodded in answer to her question, she smiled. "What is it that you liked about her Performance?"

Dawn smirked as she saw Ash's cheeks turn just a little bit red at the question. "Uh...well she was just really amazing. She was in sync with her Pokemon, and they responded to her commands really quickly. They all seemed to really trust one another. Seeing how much she was enjoying it seemed to make everyone in the audience enjoy it more. And...I guess it was just really cool overall."

"So you appreciate the skill required in performances?" the woman asked, looking somewhat surprised at Ash's answer.

"Of course! It's an awesome way to have fun with Pokemon, and Serena and Shauna seemed to really enjoy it. And it can even help give me ideas for battles," Ash answered, turning to look at Dawn. "And contests are awesome as well. Dawn is a really good Coordinator and some of her ideas have helped me already, and even helped Serena out yesterday."

"Yes, I've heard quite a bit about you, Dawn," the woman said, looking curiously at the Coordinator. She kept her gaze on Dawn a moment, and then looked at Professor Sycamore. "So what is it that makes Miss Berlitz the leader of the Performance Team?"

"Well, Palermo, as successful as the other members of our Performance Team have been in their short careers, Dawn has the most experience," Sycamore said, looking at Dawn, who stared back in confusion. What did she mean by leader? "Dawn has competed in three Grand Festivals by now, and has placed in the Top Four in her most recent quest, and even came in second place back in her first challenge in Sinnoh. She's been 'battle tested' so to speak."

The woman, Palermo, nodded, looking at Dawn once again, narrowing her eyes with interest. "Three Grand Festivals? I must admit, that is quite impressive. I appreciate the dedication required in coordinating. You must be very talented and hard working to have done so well, despite being so young."

Dawn smiled nervously, still not quite sure what this was all about. "Um...thanks. I think I've gotten a bit lucky, and my Pokemon are the big reason why I've done well, but I do try my best at whatever I do."

"I think we can agree we have made the right choices here, don't you, Palermo?" Sycamore asked, looking a little amused. When she nodded, Sycamore then looked at Agatha. "And I am quite sure you have no problems with the choice for the Battle Team?"

"Of course not," Agatha seemed to snap, briefly looking as fierce as Palermo had moments earlier. "Ash and Dawn are both fine choices. I'm sure Lumiose University will be proud to be represented by them."

"What's this about?" Ash asked finally, looking at Dawn in confusion, as if she might know. She shrugged in answer, and he turned his gaze to Professor Sycamore.

"Well, the IPL requires each school to have a Captain to represent their Battle Team and their Performance Team," Professor Sycamore explained, smiling as he watched Ash and Dawn look at him in surprise. "I've discussed the matter with these two ladies, along with Flint and Fantina, and we all agree that with the experience you two have in your respective careers, you are both capable of shouldering this responsibility. If you are okay with it that is?"

"Captains?" Ash asked, looking back at Dawn. "Sounds kind of weird, but it could be fun. I'm in."

Dawn nodded, feeling a little nervous about the situation, but knowing that her friends would be able to help her out. "Sure," she said, looking at Agatha, Sycamore and then Palermo. "I'm in, too. No need to worry."

* * *

"Captain?" Serena asked, giggling a little at Ash's awkward expression. He was holding a sports jacket in his hands, showing Serena and Marie what he'd been given by Professor Sycamore, before their Pokemon Healthcare class began. It was mostly black, with a yellow stripe at the bottom and at the edges of the sleeves, along with light blue sleeves. On the front left part of the jacket, were the words, "Lumiose University" in large, yellow print, and underneath, a bit smaller, "Battle Team" was printed, with the word "Captain" underneath that. On the back, "Ketchum" was printed at the top, also in yellow, along with a number underneath. "Why number twenty five?"

"I don't know," Ash said, laughing a little nervously. "Professor Sycamore just seemed to think it suited me." He stared at the jacket in his hands, and despite him seeming a little embarrassed about the whole thing, Serena could tell he was pretty proud of it as well.

"You deserve it, Ash. You've already shown you're a leader," Serena told him, smiling as he began putting his jacket in his backpack, having to remove a sleeping Rowlet and place it on the desk in front of him, next to Pikachu. You'll do well representing the Battle Team."

"I wish we'd had time to see what Dawn got," Marie muttered, looking disappointed as Ash finished putting his jacket away.

"I think the Performance Team gets similar jackets," Ash explained to her, before looking back to Serena, "but I think you'll still be choosing your own outfits for the Contest battles and performances."

"Did you say Palermo was there as well?" Serena asked, wondering why the old Performance expert hadn't bothered coming to see her. Serena had thought that since Palermo had suggested the school in the first place, she'd want to see how it was going.

"Yeah, she asked me what I thought about your Performance," Ash said, shrugging, clearly not thinking much of it. "I told her how awesome I thought it was, and she seemed pretty happy to know you were doing well."

Marie giggled a little and caught Serena's eye, making the latter's cheeks heat up a bit, though she tried to ignore it, hoping Ash wouldn't notice. "Um...thanks, Ash," she mumbled, glancing towards the back of the class, pretending to look to see if Nurse Joy had arrived for the class yet.

"Hey, I was just telling the truth," Ash said, shrugging again and smiling. "It was awesome, wasn't it Pikachu and Rowlet?"

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, followed by a small hoot from Rowlet, who was half asleep, but had enough energy to tilt his head towards Serena.

The three of them continued to talk while they waited for Nurse Joy to show up for the class. Mostly, they talked about the IPL, with Ash seeming particularly excited about what Korrina had mentioned about the Laverre University Battle Team, and how they had almost won the Championship last year. "I bet they'll be even better this year, and if we get to battle them, that'll be a lot of fun. Professor Sycamore said he'd be getting our schedules later today, so hopefully we'll get to battle them or Korrina and Shalour College right away."

Serena nodded, wondering if she'd get to meet any new performers that were as talented as some of her other rivals had been. Since she was on the same team as Shauna, she was a little worried that their team would be a little too good, although she knew better than to go into these competitions with too much confidence. She had no doubt that the performers competing for these other schools would be quite skilled as well.

After another couple of minutes, Nurse Joy finally arrived, and made her way to the front of the class. After a brief greeting, she quickly got into discussing the lesson for today's class, and the exercise everyone would be doing. "Today, we'll be working on status conditions," the Pokemon nurse began, turning on the projector and showing a table on the screen which displayed the various status conditions, such as poisoning and burning. "You will be able to take classes that go into these much further, but it is important to have a basic knowledge as you go forward."

As the class continued, Nurse Joy discussed some of the various status conditions and the various methods of healing them. Most of it was information Serena was already quite familiar with, but she was surprised to see that some of the other students in the class seemed quite lost. She glanced over to see Ash staring blankly out the window, Pikachu doing the same in an eerily similar fashion, while Rowlet slept next to him. Marie also seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, twirling her hair as she watched Nurse Joy lecture.

Serena couldn't help but let a small yawn escape, and glanced nervously at Nurse Joy as she did, relieved to see the Pokemon nurse looking the other way. She felt kind of bad about it, but Serena couldn't help but feel bored with today's class. Perhaps it was the battling and the performances of the last couple of days, but she felt as though today, she should be doing something else. She looked back towards Ash, seeing him still staring out the window. His blank look seemed to have disappeared, though, and now he just looked curious, as though watching something.

"Mr. Ketchum," a voice suddenly called out, snapping both Serena's and Ash's attention towards the front of the class, where Nurse Joy was looking at them. "Would you, or possibly Miss Yvonne, be willing to explain two methods for healing a Pokemon when it's poisoned?"

Serena was about to answer for Ash, thinking he'd been so spaced out that he wouldn't have had an answer prepared, but surprisingly, he answered immediately. "You can heal it with either an Antidote or a Pecha Berry." His attention then went back to the window, and that was when Serena realized he was watching something more than the clouds drifting by.

Nurse Joy seemed to have noticed as well, and Serena was surprised to see her gasp as she stared outside. "Is that Flint?"

Serena quickly stood, looking over Ash's head and seeing what was going on outside. She was shocked as she saw Flint, his Infernape jumping in front of him to block an attack from an incoming Golbat. A few feet away, was a bulky man with no hair and a thick moustache. His angry eyes and evil smirk just gave him the typical look of a bad guy. At his feet, was a four-legged white-furred Pokemon with a black horn coming from its head. It seemed to be badly hurt.

"Let's go, Pikachu and Rowlet!" Ash suddenly yelled, jumping up out of his seat and running past Serena, Pikachu running behind him. Rowlet was even able to wake himself up and fly off after him. Within seconds, both were out the door of the class, and Serena knew that at any moment, they'd be showing up outside on the street.

Serena hesitated a moment, not sure whether she should go or not, but after exchanging a glance with Marie, both girls nodded, and they too set off out of the class, pulling out their pokeballs as they ran. They quickly darted through the lobby of the building, past a few startled students and out onto the street. After rounding the corner, they could see Ash running up behind the "bad guy" with Pikachu in front, and Rowlet bursting towards Golbat to assist Flint and Infernape.

"Hey!" Ash yelled, getting the man's attention. "What are you doing?"

"Ash, don't worry. I've got this handled. Pokemon hunters are no big deal," Flint called out, although he smiled in amusement, clearly knowing that Ash wasn't going to be backing down.

"Pokemon Hunter?" Marie asked, looking at Serena with wide eyes. "They can be pretty dangerous, can't they?"

Serena nodded, watching as the Pokemon Hunter turned around to face Ash, throwing out another pokeball and releasing a Seviper to stop his approach. "Deal with the kid," the Hunter yelled in a rough voice.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! And then use Iron Tail!" Ash yelled, the fury in his voice shocking Serena a little.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, leaping into the air above Seviper, electricity surging around his body. "Chuuu!" he finished, releasing the blast on the opposing Pokemon, causing it to cry out in pain. As Pikachu descended, his tail stretched out and glowed white as he prepared to fling it forward. With a loud, "chuuu PIKA!" he slammed it hard into the side of Seviper's head, sending it flying forward and landing in front of the Hunter, startling him as he also watched Infernape send Golbat down, followed by a quick Tackle from Rowlet. Clearly, he was not even near the level of Ash and Flint.

"Serena," Marie whispered, as they watched the Hunter recall his Pokemon and back away nervously. "Let's go make sure that Absol is okay."

Serena looked up, not sure what Marie was talking about, but followed to where she was pointing, seeing the Pokemon that had been lying in front of the Hunter before. As the Hunter began to run off, Flint chasing after him, signalling for Ash to stay behind, Serena and Marie quickly headed over to the injured Pokemon.

When Serena reached it, she dropped to her knees in front of the Absol, noticing it wincing as it tried to stand, little puffs of purple smoke escaping from its nostrils. "He's poisoned," Marie whispered, pointing out what Serena had just noticed. "I'll go get Nurse Joy and see if she has any Pecha Berries."

Serena nodded, before looking down at Absol, seeing that it was still straining to stand up. "Hey, take it easy," she whispered, carefully reaching out and resting her hand on the Disaster Pokemon's soft head. "We're going to help you get better, and then you can go if you want, okay?"

"Sol..." Absol growled, his eyes shifting upwards and looking at Serena. She had a feeling he didn't like humans very much, and it probably didn't help that he'd been hurt by a Pokemon Hunter.

"I hate people that do this to Pokemon," a voice said, and Serena glanced to her left to see Ash kneeling down next to her. "I saw that guy chasing Absol, but I couldn't really see what was going on from the class. Then, when Flint showed up, I knew there was a problem. He must've used his Golbat to attack Absol while we were answering Nurse Joy's question."

"I'm glad you were able to help," Serena said, smiling at Ash. She gave a little wink, giggling a little. "Your first act as the Captain of the Lumiose University Battle Team. I think you just proved you're a good leader."

Ash shrugged, before looking back down at Absol. "I think Absol's gonna be in the Pokemon Centre for a while. He looks pretty banged up."

"Sol..." Absol growled again, clearly not liking the sound of that.

"Cheer up, Absol, we're not like that Hunter. We'll help you feel better, okay?" Serena said, absentmindedly stroking Absol's fur.

"Ab...sol..." the Disaster Pokemon murmured, eyelids fluttering as he struggled to stay awake. Eventually, Serena's petting seemed to have calmed him down enough, and just as Marie arrived with Nurse Joy, he'd drifted off.

* * *

"A Pokemon Hunter?" Clemont looked around the dining hall as they ate lunch, almost thinking there could be another Hunter around. Ash, Serena and Marie had just told him and the others about what had happened during their Pokemon Healthcare class. It seemed as though it was the big topic of conversation among most groups in the dining hall, as Clemont could see many people looking over at the trio who had been involved.

"Yeah, apparently that's why Flint wasn't at our meeting with Professor Sycamore," Ash said, looking at Dawn. "He'd offered to help out Officer Jenny in tracking this guy down. It just so happened that he was delivering an Absol and when it escaped, that gave Flint an opportunity to chase him down. Too bad that Absol got hurt out of it, though."

"I'm going to check on him once my last class is over," Serena said, looking at a clock as though that would make the time go faster. "Nurse Joy thinks I did a good job with helping him calm down, so she asked me to help with taking care of him while he heals. It should be good for getting better with Pokemon Healthcare, and it'll be nice to help out Absol as well."

Clemont shook his head, feeling angry at the thought of someone hurting a Pokemon like this. "I can't believe someone could do this. It's horrible. It's a good thing you guys were there to help, and that Flint had been helping with tracking him down."

"Well, he wasn't very strong, that's for sure," Ash said, looking at Pikachu and smiling. "Pikachu took down that Seviper with two attacks. He's lucky that he caught Absol off guard, because otherwise, he would've been no match for him."

"Do you know if Flint and Officer Jenny managed to catch him?" Shauna asked nervously. "I don't want any other Pokemon to be hurt and we'll need to be very careful if he's still out there."

"Don't worry, he's been caught," Ash answered, giving a thumbs up. Flint caught him fairly quickly after he ran away from our battle. He won't be hurting any other Pokemon."

"Wow, this all makes our news seem kind of boring," Tierno muttered, looking at Dawn, and then at Shauna. "No Pokemon hunters, but we did have an interesting class, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I think you guys will be interested to know what's going on," Shauna said, looking excitedly around the table. "We're getting a really cool assignment tomorrow for Breeding class."

"Does this have something to do with our class being moved to a larger room for tomorrow?" Clemont asked. They'd been notified that morning that their Breeding class the next day would be moved. He'd been wondering what reason it could be for.

Shauna nodded, leaning forward excitedly. "All the students taking Pokemon Breeding are going to be there tomorrow. We're scheduled to drop in on your class. Reggie said we get to partner up with anyone else taking the class and it's for our big assignment that's the biggest part of our final grade."

"What's it for?" Ash asked, glancing over at Serena, before looking at Shauna again.

"Each pair gets to take care of an egg, and you get graded for how you take care of it and then later on, how you begin to raise the baby Pokemon," Shauna explained, looking excitedly around the table. "Doesn't that sound amazing? I can't wait to get a baby Pokemon! It'll be so cute!"

Clemont laughed, thinking of how much Bonnie would probably enjoy something like this. He'd have to show her the egg he received once he got it. Of course, he'd have to be careful that she didn't try to take on the responsibility of caring for it herself.

"Sounds like fun," Trevor chimed in, looking around the table. "So what do you guys think? Since there's eight of us, why don't we all partner up? Four pairs."

Tierno almost jumped out of his seat at that, and Clemont could see him immediately look over to Serena. "That's a great idea, Trevs! I know exactly who I'll partner up with. Ser-"

"How about you and Trevor partner up?" Shauna suggested quickly. Clemont noticed her then glance towards Serena, before looking at Trevor. "You two are best friends after all."

"Yeah, good idea," Trevor said, smiling at Tierno. "You up for that?"

"Uh...yeah...yeah that was my plan all along," Tierno muttered, nodding at Trevor. "We'll ace this thing, right Trevs?"

"You bet!" Trevor said, looking like he was holding back a laugh. "How about the rest of you?" he asked, looking at Ash first.

Clemont was expecting Ash to suggest they partner up, but was surprised when the raven-haired trainer turned to Serena. "Is it okay with you if we partner up, Serena?"

"Oh..." Serena looked so shocked that Ash had asked her, that Clemont was wondering if she'd even registered the question. Her eyes went to Clemont, and he realized she was silently asking if it was okay with him, likely thinking he'd want to partner with Ash like Tierno and Trevor. He quickly nodded, perfectly fine with working with someone else. Besides, he spent a lot of time with Ash already, so it made sense to change things up a bit.

"It's fine if you don't want to," Ash said, looking a little nervous at the long pause. "If you want to work with Shauna that's fine."

"No!" Serena said quickly, smiling at Ash. "Sorry, I just didn't expect you to ask me. Sure, Ash, I'd really like that."

"Great!" Ash exclaimed, before looking apologetically at Clemont, who smiled back to signal he was fine with it. He was a little concerned, actually, as he could see Ash's cheeks going red, despite it being somewhat chilly in the dining hall.

"Okay, I'll work with Marie then," Dawn said, "and I guess that leaves Shauna and Clemont. If that's okay with you guys."

Marie and Shauna nodded immediately, the latter winking at Clemont. He didn't really know what to think about this. His first meeting with Shauna had involved her knocking him on his butt. He didn't really know what raising an egg with her would be like. "Um...sure," he finally managed to say, feeling the need to fidget with his glasses. "Looking...forward to it."

"Hey, Shauna's great with Pokemon," Serena assured Clemont. "You two will do a great job." She then gave Ash a little wink. "Not as good as us, though."

"Yeah, I've raised Pokemon from eggs before. We'll do great, and we'll raise an awesome Pokemon," Ash announced confidently.

"Do you know what kinds of Pokemon we might be getting from these eggs?" Clemont asked, looking at Shauna.

"Reggie said it would be a surprise, whatever we got," Dawn answered, bringing the group's attention to her. "I think he'll probably have some idea of the Pokemon, but he won't be telling us."

"I think it's more fun that way," Serena said, looking up thoughtfully. "The Pokemon we get could be anything. The surprise will be one of the best parts."

Tierno leaned forward, looking excited as he stared around the table. "This will be perfect. We can train a Pokemon to dance as soon as it's born."

"Uh...maybe we'll see what it's preference is first," Trevor muttered, laughing a little, although looking a little worried as well.

"I wouldn't mind ours being a dancing Pokemon," Serena admitted, turning to Ash. "My Sylveon's dancing has had a big impact on my performances, so she'd probably be a good role model."

"That'd be awesome," Ash said, nodding in agreement. "It'd probably become a great performing Pokemon. Maybe it can be both a battler and a performer."

Clemont didn't hear Serena's answer to that, as in that moment, he felt an elbow nudging him. "What about you?" Shauna asked curiously. "Any hopes for what we'll get?"

"I guess I'm happy with anything," Clemont answered, shrugging. "If I can handle Chespin and Turtwig, I can probably deal with whatever this Pokemon throws at us."

* * *

As Ash walked out of his Levels and Experience class, he sighed in relief, looking up at Pikachu. "Busy day, wasn't it, buddy?"

"Pi pika," Pikachu answered, nodding and blinking tiredly. Ash had been noticing lately that his partner Pokemon was struggling with sitting still for these classes. It just wasn't him. It wasn't really Ash, either. However, with all the school had to offer, the classes were just something they'd have to deal with so they could gain from the other aspects.

"I know these classes are tough to sit through sometimes," Ash said, walking out the doors of the Luxray Building, "but it's worth it with everything else we get to do. The training facilities are great, the tryouts were awesome and you have to admit, some of the things in these classes are pretty cool." He gestured to his backpack, laughing. "We've got an awesome new Pokemon in Rowlet, and we'll be making a new friend with the Pokemon that hatches from the egg Serena and I are going to take care of." He rubbed his nose, feeling a strange sense of awkwardness. "Speaking of that, this school has helped us make a lot of new friends. Serena and the others are a lot of fun to hang out with."

Pikachu nodded at that, seemingly agreeing with Ash's words. He'd obviously enjoyed spending time with the others as well, and couldn't deny that the school had brought them together. Ash could tell that Pikachu still felt a little down, though, and wondered if he was feeling a little sick, as the electric mouse was usually active and ready for some training after their classes.

"Why don't we get you and the others a quick checkup at the Pokemon Centre?" Ash asked, reaching up and picking up Pikachu from his shoulder. "You could probably use a good boost of energy, and then maybe we can go and do some training after that, before meeting up with Dawn and Professor Sycamore."

"Pika pikachu," Pikachu answered, sounding a little more enthusiastic at the prospect of getting in some more training.

It only took a few minutes to get to the Pokemon Centre. Ash was fairly proud of how quickly he was able to make it around campus by now. He knew the best routes to each of his classes, the training facilities and, of course, the Pokemon Centre. Even Pikachu seemed somewhat impressed at how quickly they'd arrived, scurrying back onto Ash's shoulder, a little more jump in him.

As Ash entered the Pokemon Centre, he was surprised to find it relatively quiet, with only a couple of people waiting in the lobby, and one other person sitting by a video phone. Ash quickly made his way over to the front desk, ringing the bell to call Nurse Joy out. After about a minute, the door behind the desk opened, and Ash jumped in surprise at who it was.

"Serena!" he shouted, only just remembering that she'd mentioned she would be coming here after her last class had ended. She looked a little startled at his reaction, and he laughed nervously. "Uh...sorry about that. I just forgot you were gonna be here. Didn't expect you to come out like that."

"Oh," Serena said, before giggling a little, "that's okay. Hey, why don't you come back with me? You can give your Pokemon to Nurse Joy and then we can spend some time with Absol. He's much better by the way."

Ash glanced up at Pikachu, not exactly knowing what to say. They were only here for a little checkup, and then they'd had plans to do some training before meeting up with Professor Sycamore. He didn't want to shoot Serena down, though, especially since they were going to be working on such a big project together. "Um...maybe just while they're getting a checkup. I promised Pikachu we'd do some training, and then we're meeting Professor Sycamore about the IPL."

"Okay," Serena said, smiling, "I know you love your training, but at least you can see how well Absol's doing." She quickly turned around, heading back through the door, and Ash then followed, making his way around the desk and also through the door.

Once through the door, Ash followed Serena down a small hallway, which had a couple of rooms on either side. One was empty, while another had a Pidgey and a Scatterbug in it, being treated for minor battle injuries from the looks of things. Serena continued walking, though, and led Ash to the very back of the hall, and into the last room. When they entered, Ash could see the Absol from earlier in the day, sleeping on the bed, while Nurse Joy seemed to be checking his heart rate.

Ash was a little surprised to see how rough Absol looked, considering that Serena had just mentioned he'd been getting better already. From what Ash could see, Absol was very thin, its fur was matted in most places, a couple of scars were on its face, and its back two legs were bent at awkward angles. He almost looked worse than before, his injuries on full display after being hidden by the chaos of battle earlier in the day. Ash felt sick at the sight, and glanced at Serena standing next to him, wondering why she'd seemed so positive before. Even now, she looked a little worried, but she continued to smile as she looked at Absol.

"He's doing well, right Nurse Joy?" she asked, stepping forward and then kneeling in front of the bed. She carefully reached out a hand and began to gently stroke the fur on Absol's neck, one of the few areas where it wasn't matted.

Nurse Joy looked over at Ash, biting her lip nervously, before looking back at Serena. "There's still a lot of work to do, Serena. Absol has a long way to go before recovering. I have treated some bad injuries in my time, but these are among the worst I've seen. I'm confident in my abilities, but it won't be easy, and it won't be quick." Serena didn't say anything in response, and just continued to stroke Absol's neck fur. Ash could almost feel the fear, sadness, and even anger, emanating from her. Nurse Joy looked at the Performer with concern a few moments, but eventually stood up and approached Ash. "I'll do a quick checkup for your Pokemon if you'd like," she said, smiling kindly.

"Sure, that'd be great," Ash answered, pulling out Greninja's pokeball and handing it to her, while Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and onto the cart that was by the door. Ash then pulled off his backpack and gently took out Rowlet, placing the sleeping owl Pokemon next to Pikachu. "Thanks Nurse Joy," he said quietly, as she wheeled the cart through the door. "I'll...keep Serena company."

Once Nurse Joy left, Ash made his way over to the bed and sat down on the ground next to Serena. For a few moments, they were both silent, but finally, just before Ash was going to speak, Serena broke the silence. "I was thinking earlier today, just before everything happened with the Hunter and Absol, that I was...I don't know...restless? I was having a hard time focusing in class and I felt like I needed something more exciting."

Ash didn't know if this had anything to do with Absol or not, but he decided to go along with it, hoping the distraction would make her feel better. "I was actually talking to Pikachu about the same thing," he admitted, shifting so that he was facing Serena. "I guess those tryouts got us all riled up, huh?"

Serena gave a short laugh at that, nodding slightly. "Performing in front of a big crowd like that again...it really made me miss travelling and competing in showcases. It's so exciting and it's so fun to just go on stage with my Pokemon. And seeing the audience enjoying it so much just makes it that much better."

"You don't really do it for yourself do you?" Ash asked, smiling at her. "You just want to make your Pokemon and the people watching have fun and smile."

"Well, I do enjoy it myself," Serena said, looking somewhat surprised at the question. "You make it sound like you think your dream is selfish."

Ash shrugged, thinking of his past journeys, his past battles and all of his Pokemon. "Being a Pokemon Master and training and defeating strong Pokemon isn't as selfless as performing and making people smile," he said, after a few moments of silence.

"But you make your Pokemon so much happier," Serena argued, smiling like she thought Ash's words were silly. "And you said that you'd never sacrifice a Pokemon's happiness just to win battles, like with your Butterfree." Ash was shocked that Serena remembered his words so well, and he felt somewhat proud of it. "Maybe your goal is to become a Pokemon Master and win battles, but in the end, you're doing a similar thing to me. You make Pokemon stronger and happier, and being their friend is more important to you than anything. And you help people as well. You inspire others to be better. Like Trevor, the other day. And me. I really want to help Absol get better, because I know that's the kind of thing you do. Even if it isn't your Pokemon, you'll do anything to help it."

"I guess I never thought of it like that," Ash admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt his heart beating a little faster than normal as he looked at Serena smiling back at him, and he couldn't help but feel really proud of the fact that she'd said he'd inspired her. He stared at her clear, blue eyes, feeling somewhat dazed as the silence dragged on and they just looked at one another. "You're eyes...they're really pretty," Ash suddenly muttered, his own eyes widening as soon as the words left his mouth. The heat in the room seemed to have doubled in the past minute or so, and he started fidgeting with his jacket, quite uncomfortable. He looked at Absol, hoping to distract himself and Serena by changing the subject. "Um...wh-what do you think Absol will do once he gets better?" he asked awkwardly.

Serena was silent for a moment, and Ash took a quick glance towards her, noticing she had a giddy smile on her face. "I hope that he'll have a good trainer to take care of him," she finally said. "He deserves to have someone treat him right, especially after what that Hunter did."

"Maybe you should be his trainer," Ash suggested, looking back at Absol, noticing its breathing wasn't as heavy. Ash had a feeling the Disaster Pokemon was awake and listening. It was a little surprising that he could look so calm with the pain he was likely in, but Ash could see that Serena was still stroking Absol's fur, and knew that was likely soothing him.

Serena didn't say anything for a moment, staring at Absol as she continued to pet him. Ash could tell that she was imagining a scenario where she was the Disaster Pokemon's trainer. "I want Absol to recover first. We'll think about what he wants to do after that." She then smiled shyly, leaning forward a bit. "I think he'd be a great Pokemon to have, though," she whispered, giggling a little.

At that moment, the door to the room opened, and Nurse Joy entered, Pikachu, Rowlet and Greninja's pokeball on the cart in front of her. She stopped quite suddenly when she entered, looking a little embarrassed as she looked at Ash and Serena. Apparently Serena seemed to notice whatever it was, because she glanced at Ash and then backed her head away suddenly, which had been quite close as she'd whispered to him.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed happily, hopping off the cart and running up to Ash.

"Hey buddy," Ash greeted happily, catching the electric mouse as he leaped into his trainer's arms. "Thanks Nurse Joy," he added, looking up at her.

"My pleasure," she said, smiling as Rowlet flew over, dropping Greninja's pokeball in Ash's hand before landing on his shoulder. "All three of your Pokemon are doing well. They're just a bit restless, I think, but a bit of training should cure that."

"Oh...yeah," Ash mumbled, looking at Serena. "Well, I guess I could stay a bit longer if you'd like. If that's okay with Pikachu?"

Pikachu immediately nodded, but Serena shook her head, smiling at Ash. "It's all right. I'll stay a bit longer and then I'll head back home. Maybe I'll see you a bit later and you can tell me what's up with the IPL."

"Yeah," Ash said, standing up, Pikachu scurrying up to the opposite shoulder from Rowlet. "Okay then, I'll see you later." He rubbed his nose, feeling a strange sense of nervousness washing over him. He'd really enjoyed this brief time with Serena, despite it being a small conversation.

"See you later," Serena said, waving as Ash turned around, heading towards the door. Just as he was passing Nurse Joy, Serena quickly called out to him. "Ash...thank you," she said quietly.

"For what?" Ash asked, turning back.

Serena blushed, avoiding eye contact. "Just...this."

"No problem," Ash said, grinning. "You're one of my best friends, Serena. I like spending time with you."

 **Author's Note:**

And oh my goodness do we have some interesting things going on. Now, first thing. I had Dawn get the leadership role for the Performance Team simply because she's done more. Not much else to say. Next, the breeding class assignment. I was so tempted to troll and have different partners, but no, it did not fit. Ash and Serena must work together for this. You will see why later.

Now for the main thing. Absol. The Pokemon Hunter was going to be a bigger thing later on, but then I decided, "No, I've got better plans for developing an Absol and Serena relationship," so I decided to just have the hunter be the one to set up Absol as a Pokemon who distrusts humans but needs assistance as he recovers. Him being somewhat permanently injured is something I thought would be interesting for...later. I know this part seemed a bit random, but I think it worked better than my original plan, and later on, it should be much better.

I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time.


	17. Eggcellent

**Author's Note:**

We've got two different POVs for this chapter. One of them will be particularly interesting...I hope. So let's see who they are. Hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 17: Eggcellent**

"Scizor, use Bullet Punch! Skarmory, use Steel Wing!"

"Zor!" the Pincer Pokemon grunted out, leaping off the grass and flying up towards the Steel and Flying type above him. He pulled back his pincer as he approached Skarmory, making it a fist that glowed in a bright white light. As Skarmory brought his own glowing white wing down to meet it, Scizor's attack was too much. He powered through Skarmory's Steel Wing and smashed the metallic bird in the chest. It screeched in pain and then plummeted to the ground, crashing against a tree before tumbling down in front of his trainer, Scizor landing calmly next to him.

"Good work, Scizor," Anton said, nodding to his Pokemon. "But you, Skarmory, that wasn't anywhere near good enough," he growled, kneeling down and looking at the Armour Bird Pokemon, who was raising its head, still looking groggy from Scizor's attack. "I expect you to be much better. You're capable of much more."

"Skar skarmory," Skarmory groaned out, struggling to stand up.

Anton shook his head, reaching out and gently holding Skarmory down. "No need for that," he said in a low voice. "Rest up for now and tomorrow it's back to some more intensive training. Just make sure you're on top of things." Anton then pulled out a pokeball and quickly recalled his exhausted bird back into it, before standing up and turning to Scizor. The Pincer Pokemon was practising punching an invisible opponent, his closed pincers going out at full speed. "Looking good, Scizor," Anton muttered, smiling just a little.

"Scizor," Scizor said proudly, turning back to face his trainer, opening and closing his pincers as he faced Anton. There was a brief twinkle as Scizor's pincer opened up and the sunlight hit it. The sight brought another smile to Anton's face as he fiddled with the bandanna around his neck.

"You've trained particularly hard today," Anton noted, looking up at the morning sky. "I guess you're excited about seeing what these rumours are all about, huh?"

"Zor," Scizor answered, nodding and punching the air a couple more times.

Anton nodded, pursing his lips as he thought about what one of his teachers, Raphael, had said after his visit to Lumiose City on the weekend. "It's not only that Gym Leader, it's a couple of League trainers as well. That Ketchum kid even made it to the finals." Anton shrugged as he thought of his battle with Clemont at the Lumiose Gym. "It won't be that challenging, Scizor. We need to keep training, but remember, the Pokemon League is a joke. We don't need to beat a bunch of weaklings to get to the top. We're ready for the Champions League right now."

"Wow, you are so full of yourself, Anton," a girl's voice said from behind, and Anton turned around, frowning as he saw the long pink hair of his sister. "Happy to see me, as usual," she muttered, noticing his expression.

"What do you want, Gabby?" Anton asked, narrowing his eyes. He loved his sister, but ever since she'd been accepted to Laverre University, she hadn't stopped pestering Anton about training too much. She said he needed to lighten up.

"I don't have class till later, so I thought I'd come check up on my brother," she said sweetly, walking over towards Scizor. "How's it going, Scizor?" she asked, giving the Pincer Pokemon a very awkward little hug, although only Scizor seemed to think of it as such.

"Scizor," Scizor answered, nodding to the pink-haired girl.

"I suppose I should be training as well," Gabby said, after about a minute of silence as she looked up at the sky. "I'm probably going to be performing against that girl who nearly won the Masterclass Showcase. She's quite impressive, you know. Have you seen her?"

"I don't watch that stuff unless you're competing," Anton muttered, narrowing his eyes. He really didn't like it when his sister intruded on his training. "I don't even watch the Pokemon League when it's on, so why would I watch a bunch of girls dress up and dance with their Pokemon. None of them have any talent like you."

Gabby smiled at that, looking pleased with the compliment. "So you _do_ at least like _my_ performances. Well, that's good to know. But you know, brother, it's foolish to ignore what other trainers do. We can all learn from one another. You can't tell me that you don't adapt your opponents' strategies for your own battles."

"That's different. Using an opponent's strategy within a battle is necessary to throw them off. To learn from them is pointless. You can't be someone else." He paused, thinking of his very first gym battle way back when he was ten years old. "You remember when I challenged my first gym, right?"

"Yeah," Gabby muttered, clearly knowing where Anton was going with this. "Gurkinn at the Shalour City Gym. You saw a trainer beat him with flying type Pokemon so you tried to use the same strategy. But it backfired."

"Exactly. And then I realized that he wasn't even fighting me at his best. He'd completely mocked me by not even using his Mega Lucario." Anton gritted his teeth at the memory. "He made a fool of me and made me realize that I needed my own style. My own way of winning battles."

"You were ten, Anton. Experienced trainers have a hard time beating that gym, even now that the granddaughter is running it." Gabby raised an eyebrow and looked straight at Anton. "You lost one battle as a rookie. Can you just get over it?"

"It's not just that, Gabby," Anton muttered, irritated that she couldn't understand. "I tried to learn from someone and all it did was get me mocked. The Pokemon League is nothing more than a way to humiliate trainers. There's nothing about learning from each other. You battle and you lose. One person wins, and then they lose too. It's just entertainment for the Elite Four and the Champion. The Masterclass is no different. Do you really think Aria is going to ever lose her title while she still wants it?"

Gabby rolled her eyes at that, and stepped back, pulling out a pokeball. "All right, if you say so, brother. But before I go, would you mind battling with me?"

"Battle with you? You never want to battle," Anton pointed out, stunned by his sister's request. "What do you want to do that for?"

"I'd like to show you some things," she said simply, tossing her pokeball up into the air. "Ninetales, come on out!" With a flash of light, the Fox Pokemon emerged, her golden white fur shining in the sunlight filtering through the trees.

Anton sighed, realizing he had little choice in the matter. He recalled Scizor to his pokeball, and then pulled out another one, throwing it high into the air. "Hitmonlee! You're up!" With another flash of light, the fighting type emerged, kicking at the air as he came out of his pokeball. "You sure about this, Gabby?" Anton asked, smirking at his sister.

"Yep. Ninetales, use Quick Attack!"

"Nine!" Ninetales shouted, before kicking hard off the ground and launching herself forward. Anton could barely even blink and then suddenly, Hitmonlee was flying back, crashing hard into the ground in front of his trainer, while Ninetales stood proudly at the spot where the fighting type had just been.

"Now, use Flamethrower!" Gabby shouted quickly, surprising Anton with how quickly she was making her orders.

"Dodge by using Bounce!" he quickly shouted.

"Lee!" Hitmonlee grunted, quickly getting up and kicking off the ground, just in time to dodge the flames that scorched the ground where he'd just been.

"Perfect! Now use Double Team!" Gabby ordered, smirking as she looked across at Anton. _When did she get so good?_ he thought to himself, as Ninetales multiplied and Hitmonlee came down from his Bounce attack, striking one of the copies, before jumping back and waiting for an order. Gabby was ready to make her next move, though. "Now, Flame Charge!"

"Nine!" Ninetales shouted again, her body, or in this case bodies, becoming engulfed in flames. Then, within a couple of seconds, all the copies began shooting towards Hitmonlee, like fiery missiles. Anton could see them colliding with Hitmonlee but disappearing on contact. Then, finally, the real one struck, sending the fighting type flying backwards once more.

"Not bad, Gabby," Anton admitted, narrowing his eyes as he looked at his sister's Ninetales. He could remember when it was just a little Vulpix. It had come a long way. _And this isn't even her best Pokemon_ , Anton realized, eyes going to the little bow that Gabby kept in her hair. He moved his gaze back over to Hitmonlee, seeing the Kicking Pokemon wincing as he stood. _We're just going to have to overpower her_. "Hitmonlee, use Blaze Kick!"

Gabby immediately smirked at that, which Anton was hoping for. "Let him come, Ninetales!" she called out. Ninetales nodded and braced herself as Hitmonlee approached. A moment later, and Hitmonlee was lashing out at the Fox Pokemon with a hard kick, his foot flaming. He struck Ninetales hard, causing her to wince, but ultimately, it did nothing. Just as he and Gabby had expected. "Thanks for the power boost, brother," Gabby said, laughing.

"Thanks for letting Hitmonlee get in close," Anton called back. "Close Combat!"

"Monlee!" Hitmonlee shouted out, jumping up so he was just above Ninetales, before suddenly lashing out with a seemingly nonstop barrage of kicks. Anton smirked as he saw his sister's shocked look, and he felt a rush of satisfaction as Hitmonlee struck Ninetales one last time and sent her crashing to the ground.

As Hitmonlee leaped back to stand in front of Anton, the latter looked carefully at Ninetales, seeing that she wasn't getting up. "It looks like I win, Gabby."

"Yeah...I guess so," she muttered, recalling Ninetales to her pokeball. "Good work, Ninetales," she said, before pocketing the pokeball. "Wow, I actually thought I was going to win for a second there."

"I didn't expect you to be so strong," Anton admitted, recalling Hitmonlee to his pokeball as well. "You were so quick that I didn't really have time to react."

Gabby smirked at that. "Maybe it's something you'll need to add into your battling style."

"That _is_ how I battle with Scizor. You know better than anyone that nobody else can match his speed," Anton pointed out, narrowing his eyes.

"I guess that's why I've trained Ninetales to use her speed to her advantage," Gabby said, pursing her lips and looking away. "I was using a battle style that I thought would work with my own. Interesting, huh?"

"Well then it's no wonder that you lost," Anton spat, looking away, feeling irritated with his sister. She thought she knew so much about Pokemon, but so often she would talk about learning from what others did. "You need your own style."

"There are only so many _styles_ out there, Anton. You can't expect that you can stick to one and not learn from anyone else." There was a bit of irritation in her voice now, and Anton could tell she was getting into one of her moods.

"You just don't get it, Gabby," Anton said, turning away. "When I've tried to be like someone else, it's never worked. The people that were supposed to teach me to be a great trainer, they're just stuck up jerks. I've had to do it on my own, and that's the way it's gonna be."

"Then why did you go to a school?" Gabby asked, looking like she thought Anton was crazy.

"It keeps me sharp. It's not all useless information here. It's not like when I was challenging gyms."

"Anton, you've gotta lighten up," Gabby almost shouted, shaking her head in exasperation. "You think everyone is out to get you, but you're letting mistakes from when you were ten years old cause you to make mistakes now."

"And what mistake am I making now?"

"You're focusing on winning by yourself, rather than having fun with others."

* * *

"Turtwig! No! Get back here!" Ash's eyes slowly opened as he heard the yelling from outside his room, and the sounds of an odd laughing noise coming from Turtwig.

"Twig twig twig," Turtwig seemed to laugh out, and a moment later, Ash heard what sounded like running outside of his room, along with some panting.

"Turtwig, that's my notebook!" Clemont whined, sounding quite exasperated. "Why do you need to eat things that aren't food?"

"Chespin ches!" Chespin's voice then called out, although Ash thought it was kind of muffled, perhaps from having food in his mouth.

Ash's suspicions were confirmed a moment later, as Clemont's voice once again shouted in exasperation. "Chespin! Those were all the all of the pokepuffs that Serena gave us. We were supposed to share those with Pikachu and Rowlet!"

"Pi? Pika?" Ash glanced down to the foot of his bed, noticing that Pikachu was now awake, ears pointed up as he listened to Clemont's yelling and his Pokemon giving him a hard time. Seeing how calm Pikachu was in that moment made Ash pity Clemont even more. Chespin and Turtwig really were a handful.

Now that he was woken up, though not angry about it since he wanted to be ready for his big assignment, Ash decided to get changed and get his things ready for the day of classes. "We've got a big day, Pikachu," Ash said happily, carefully putting his hat on. "We're gonna need to be extra responsible once we start taking care of that egg. Serena and whatever Pokemon that's gonna hatch from it will be counting on us. Ready to give it our best shot?"

"Chaaa," Pikachu squeaked happily, leaping up onto Ash's shoulder as he picked up his backpack, opening it up to check on Rowlet, who, as usual, was sleeping.

The two quickly gave each other a little fist bump, before Ash shouldered his backpack and made his way out of the room. He jumped back a step as he started to walk out, Clemont jumping forward to catch Turtwig who was running down the hall with his trainer's glasses. "Ha! Finally got you!" Clemont announced happily, standing up and holding up Turtwig. Ash was happy to see that the inventor didn't actually look angry. More amused actually. "I'll take those back now."

"Twig," Turtwig muttered, opening his jaws and dropping the glasses into Clemont's open hand as he was placed back down on the ground. "Tur tur twig," he seemed to laugh, looking up at Clemont as he put his glasses back on.

"You two seem to be getting along okay," Ash said, kneeling down and petting Turtwig's head. "I mean, apart from the running around."

"Chespin ches!" Chespin chimed in, looking like he'd been enjoying himself as much as Turtwig.

"Yeah," Clemont said, as he pulled out two pokeballs and recalled his two grass types inside them, "I think I'm just realizing that Chespin and Turtwig need me to lighten up a bit. They just like to have fun." He shrugged, looking at Ash. "It's still a bit frustrating, but other than a bit of running around, I can handle it."

"We should head over and do a bit of training after classes are done for the day," Ash suggested, holding up a fist in excitement. "Nothing like some hard work and training to burn off some extra energy. It'll do Chespin and Turtwig a lot of good."

"Sure," Clemont said, nodding. "Shauna and I are gonna go show the egg we're taking care of to my sister later on, but after that, some training would definitely be good." His eyes suddenly lit up in excitement as he seemed to realize something. "You've got the schedule for the IPL now, don't you? We've gotta get ready for our first match!"

Ash nodded, doing his best to not give away anything with his expression. "I'll show you guys once we're all down at breakfast. Dawn and the others are meeting us at our Breeding class, so she'll show them at their residence."

"Sounds good," Clemont said, turning towards his room. "I'll just grab my bag and then we can get going."

It only took a couple of minutes, and once Clemont had his things and was ready to go, he and Ash made their way out and into the hallway. Ash smiled immediately, noticing Serena and Shauna coming out of their room at just the same moment. He quickly closed their door, and rushed ahead of Clemont to go and greet them.

"Hey guys!" Shauna greeted as Ash approached, Clemont breathing heavily as he ran up behind him. "What's up? Ready for the big day?"

"Definitely," Ash answered confidently, giving a thumbs up. "We're gonna be the best egg raisers out of everyone! Right Serena?"

"Well I've never done this before, but hopefully you'll be able to guide us through it," Serena said quietly, smiling a little. "We need your experience."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Ash assured her, as the four trainers started walking down the hall. "You'll figure it out," he added, while they walked. "I didn't really know what I was doing when I got an egg, but I had no problems. Well...no big problems."

Shauna began giggling, clearly thinking something Ash was saying was funny. "So Ash, I guess you and Serena should probably spend a lot of time together. You want to make sure that she knows whatever you can tell her to help her out, right?"

Ash nodded immediately, though he noticed Serena looking away. He decided she was probably looking at some of the signs just outside of the elevators that they'd just arrived at, and answered Shauna while they waited for their elevator. "Yeah, I guess we'll need to do that. Probably nighttime most days, since we'll need time to train beforehand."

As the elevator opened and they all walked in, Ash was surprised as Shauna started laughing again. She managed to stop herself after about twenty seconds, and then looked at Ash again. "I've heard that it's good to eat dinner with Pokemon eggs. It helps them understand the time of the day better."

"I don't know if that's tr-" Clemont started to say, but suddenly the elevator door was opening, and Shauna was grabbing his arm and pulling him away, leaving Ash and Serena behind.

As they stepped out, Ash shrugged, deciding that, as strange as Shauna's idea was, it made sense to try it. "Well, I guess we'll need to try that dinner thing, huh Serena?"

"What?!" Serena asked loudly, jumping up at Ash's suggestion. "Are you...serious? Di-dinner?"

"Yeah, if it helps the egg, why not?" Ash said matter-of-factly. "I've got our schedule for the IPL now, so we'll need to do a lot of training, but maybe on Saturday night? We can just hang out with the egg and get something to eat."

"Is this a...da-"

"Hey Ash! Serena!" Clemont suddenly called out from the doors of the dining hall. "Hurry up! Shauna got a good table."

"We're coming, Clemont," Ash called, waving to his friend and beginning to walk over with Serena. "What was it that you were asking?" he whispered, looking back at her.

"Oh...nothing," Serena muttered, shaking her head and giving a shy smile. "The dinner, though...I'd like that. Just...us?"

"That's what I was thinking, but if you don't like that idea, that's fine," Ash said, although he kind of preferred it if it was just him and Serena. He felt so excited when he spent time with her. Something about the idea of it just being them made him somewhat giddy.

"I like that idea, yeah," Serena said breathlessly, continuously folding and unfolding her hands behind her back, keeping her head tilted so Ash couldn't see her face. "Saturday night. Just us. It'll be really nice."

"For sure," Ash said, while they lined up for getting their breakfast, noticing Clemont sitting down at the table with Shauna, handing her a plate and placing his own in front of himself.

"So Ash," Serena started, a few moments later after they'd gotten their food, "how was your meeting yesterday?"

Ash smirked, pausing as the two made their way over to the table Clemont and Shauna were at. "Well, one thing I know for sure, is that the IPL is gonna be great. We've got a long road ahead of us if we're gonna win, but it'll be a lot of fun getting there."

"Do you know what our schedule is like?" Clemont asked, leaning forward excitedly, tilting his glasses down. "Do you know when we go up against Shalour College?"

"Yeah, they're our second match," Ash explained, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and looking at it. "First match is next weekend against Laverre University, though. Professor Sycamore said they're one of the best schools for both teams. They barely lost to Anistar University last year in the finals for both competitions."

"I remember reading about that somewhere," Clemont said, scratching his chin while he thought. "I don't remember any mention of the other team, but I guess we should be careful, knowing that they went so far."

"If we train hard, we can beat any tough trainers," Ash said confidently, exchanging a smirk with Pikachu. "It's gonna be so much fun!" he added, voice shaking with excitement. I can't wait till next weekend."

"What's the rest of the schedule like?" Serena asked, leaning over and looking at the schedule in Ash's hands. "So we have six matches, two against each of the other three teams in our group. One match at Lumiose University, the other at the opposing school." She moved her head back and looked at Ash. "So there are four groups and the top two after the six matches make it into the playoff round?"

Ash nodded, kind of relieved Serena had been able to pick up on that from his paper. He'd been wondering how he could explain it. "Yeah, so we get points based on winning our individual battles or performances, and then after the six matches, the top two teams in each group will have a playoff round, competing against the other teams. Eventually it'll get down to the final two for the Championship."

"So we know Shalour College and Laverre University are in our group," Shauna chimed in, looking excited. "Who's the other?"

"Coumarine College," Ash answered, looking down at his schedule. "Professor Sycamore didn't know much about their Battle Team, but he did say they have a tough Performance Team. We're going there just before our first semester ends."

"A good a Performance Team?" Shauna asked, leaning forward with interest. "So we'll have two teams that have a pretty good reputation that we'll need to face off against."

"Don't forget that Korrina warned us that Shalour College is pretty good as well," Ash pointed out. It felt good to finally be talking about the IPL. It was the main thing that had attracted him to this school. And even though he'd originally been more interested in his own battling competitions, he felt almost just as excited for seeing Dawn and Tierno coordinating, and Shauna and Serena performing.

"We should be focusing on Laverre University first," Clemont noted, after a couple of minutes of silence. "They're our first match, and they may very well be our toughest. We'll need to do a lot of training if we're going to be ready for them. I know we've all been pretty successful, but so have they from the sounds of things."

"Clemont's right," Ash said seriously, looking at his three friends. "I'm ready to win this thing. Let's win the whole IPL!" He then put a fist out towards the middle of the table, feeling Pikachu hop off the table, a moment before making his way forward and putting his paw forward as well.

Serena was the first to join in, quickly followed by Shauna, and then Clemont. "We'll win together," Serena added, smiling at Ash. "With our friends and Pokemon."

"We'll even have a new one to help us," Ash said. "We won't be easy to beat! We're gonna ace this assignment and we're gonna win the IPL!" With that, they all raised their fists in the air, giving a little victory cry, ignoring the stares of confused students around them.

* * *

The entire Breeding class was just background noise to Serena today. There was far too much going on in her head to be able to concentrate on Reggie's lesson. She wasn't the only one distracted, but Serena's mind was occupied with thoughts on more than just the eggs. She was thinking of Absol at the Pokemon Centre, the upcoming IPL matches, the egg assignment, and, who she would be working with. A lot.

Serena didn't know if she should be mad or happy with what Shauna did, but she was certainly happy that she'd be getting to spend some more time with Ash. She didn't know if she could consider it more than that, especially since Ash thought it was just to raise the egg better. However, Serena knew she'd enjoy their night regardless, and that maybe she could at least understand some of the things she'd been feeling lately.

She and the others were sitting near the back of the class, Serena between Ash and Shauna. Serena could tell that she wasn't the only distracted one, as she could hear the continuous whispers from Shauna and Clemont, the former ensuring Clemont was noting everything down. When Clemont complained that Shauna should be noting things down as well, she only had to show him her own notes, which Serena actually didn't think were that bad, but were apparently not quite what Clemont wanted.

"We need to be on top of this," Clemont muttered, somewhat irritably. "It's an important thing to learn about, even outside of this assignment. Raising an egg, then raising a young Pokemon...it's not the same as raising and training Pokemon you've caught in the wild."

"Relax, Clemont," Shauna said, patting him on the back. "You're just better with the specifics. I'm very caring when it comes to Pokemon. Aren't I, Serena?"

"Like I said, Clemont," Serena said, looking over at the inventor, "Shauna knows what she's doing when it comes to raising Pokemon. You're lucky to have her as a partner."

"Not as lucky as _you_ are with _your_ partner," Shauna whispered, as Clemont nodded and resumed his note-taking, while Ash and the others turned their attentions back to Reggie at the front of the class. "What did he say about my dinner idea?"

Serena felt her cheeks heating up and glanced nervously to her left, hoping Ash wasn't hearing any of what Shauna was saying. Luckily, he seemed to either be listening to Reggie's lecture, or just staring at the collection of eggs at the front of the classroom. "Stop it, Shauna," Serena muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "He's gonna hear you."

Shauna shrugged at that, and for a moment, she was silent, making Serena think she was going to stop. Then, however, Shauna leaned over and poked Ash's arm to get his attention, making him turn his head to her. "Hey Ash, I was just wondering what your plans are this weekend. I've heard there's a great place to eat near Prism Tower. It has lots of food and it's a great place for two people to have dinner."

"Oh, maybe that would be a good place for us, Serena," Ash said excitedly, looking at what Serena knew was her bright red face. "What do you think?" he asked, before looking somewhat concerned. "Are you okay? You look kind of hot."

"Wow, he really is a flirt, isn't he?" Shauna said, laughing quietly.

"A what?" Ash asked, confusion mixing with his concerned look.

"I'm fine. Just ignore her, Ash," Serena managed to get out, feeling a bead of sweat drip down her neck. "Um...Saturday at that place is fine. Let's just leave it at that."

"Okay," Ash said with a shrug, before reaching his hand up and placing it on Serena's forehead, stunning not only her, but the others as well. "It's not that warm in here, but you seem to be burning up. Are you sure that you're okay?"

"Yes," Serena squeaked, barely audible, as Ash pulled his hand back. He shrugged once again and turned back to listen to the remaining part of Reggie's lecture. Once she was sure Ash, the unhappy Tierno, the oblivious Clemont and Trevor, and the amused Dawn and Marie, were all looking elsewhere, Serena turned to Shauna, narrowing her eyes. "You need to stop this."

"An odd way to say thank you," Shauna said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I guess you'll be thanking me after your date."

"It's not a date!" Serena hissed, getting a glance from Clemont, but luckily not anyone else in their group.

"Then make it one," Shauna whispered, leaning her head closer to Serena. "Ash _did_ ask you to be his partner for this assignment. I don't think he's totally uninterested." She glanced over at him, looking amused as she watched him. "He must somehow understand that what I said about eating dinner with the egg is nonsense."

"Well it combines food and Pokemon, so I don't really know," Serena muttered, frowning at the thought.

"There's one way you can make sure everyone is on the same page," Shauna said, after a couple of moments of silence.

Serena blushed immediately, looking ahead to the front of the class. "I think you need to stop talking now," she said in a low voice.

Shauna just shrugged at that, smirking a little as she turned to face the front of the class and listen to the rest of Reggie's lecture. When Serena was satisfied that her friend wasn't going to bug her anymore, she finally focused on Reggie as well, hoping to listen to at least some part of the lecture. However, without even realizing it, the time had slipped by, and Serena noticed Reggie looking up at the clock, before turning to the class and smiling.

"Well, class, it looks like it's time for us to end the lecture for the day. I'm sure many of you were listening carefully and had nothing else on your mind." He said the last part with a knowing look around the class, his eyes actually resting on Serena's group, making her instantly feel guilty for talking during the lecture. However, Reggie didn't seem bothered too much. "Don't worry, I understand how exciting this assignment is. I'm quite happy that many of you are so enthusiastic about it. It will be a great opportunity for you to learn about Pokemon, yourselves and each other."

"Learn about...each other," Shauna whispered, not looking at Serena, but clearly directing her words to her.

Serena just rolled her eyes and then looked ahead towards Reggie once again. The Pokemon Breeder was now walking to the back of the class where the many desks full of eggs were arranged. He stopped at one and picked up an egg with a light blue colour, with a couple of black lines circling around it. Serena noticed Ash tensing up next to her, and wondered if he'd seen an egg like that before, or if he was just excited.

"Now, the way this assignment will work, is each pair will care for the egg. Obviously, you will not be together the whole time, and will need to split the duty. Most of these eggs, if properly cared for, will hatch within a few weeks." Reggie then paused, holding up the egg in his hands. "Some eggs _will_ take a bit longer, though, and I will inform you if that is the case with yours. I've selected a few trainers who will be taking care of these eggs."

"Will you be telling us the Pokemon in these eggs?" a student asked from the front row, raising their hand up.

Reggie shook his head, smiling. "No, I will not. That would ruin much of the excitement for you all. The mystery of the Pokemon within the egg is one of the best parts of this entire experience." He paused a moment as he placed the egg he'd been holding back onto the desk. "All right, as I was saying, you'll be caring for these eggs over the next few weeks. Then, once they've hatched, I'll be assessing the health of the Pokemon. After that, you'll be raising the baby Pokemon. By the end of the semester, each pair will be allowed to choose a specific way to show off how they've raised their Pokemon. A standard battle, a Contest battle, or a Performance. I won't expect it to be perfect, but enough to show that you've managed to raise your Pokemon well and build a bond with it. Each trainer in the pair will be expected to participate.

Serena thought that was a bit of a strange way to examine the work of two people with one Pokemon, but she knew that she and Ash would be able to work something out. She was beginning to get quite excited, and needed to do her best to stop Shauna from seeing her smiling.

"All right, now that we all know what's happening, I think we should begin. Things will be a bit hectic as we assign each pair an egg, so make sure to be patient." As soon as those words left Reggie's mouth, it was a big mess near the front of the class as students began running forward in their pairs, pushing past each other and begging Reggie, and the two assistants helping him, for their eggs. Tierno and Trevor ran ahead to join the stampede, followed by Dawn and Marie, although the second pair hovered near the back.

Serena and Ash waited the longest, waving goodbye to Clemont and Shauna as they eventually decided to make their way to the front after a few minutes, the crowd thinning a bit. Ash's patience was a little surprising to Serena, but after a few moments, she noticed that he seemed to be watching something intently, perhaps unaware of everything else going on.

"Ash?" Serena asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking at him. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" He blinked a couple of times and then turned to Serena, looking confused. He quickly shook his head, though, and smiled. "Sorry, I was just...um...watching the eggs. Trying to see which one might fit us."

Serena nodded, glancing down to the front of the class and deciding the crowd was small enough for them to go down now. "Why don't we find out who it is then?" she asked, standing up.

"Sure," Ash agreed quickly, also standing. He quickly shouldered his backpack while Pikachu scurried up onto his head. Then, without warning, he grabbed onto Serena's hand and began pulling her along behind him. "Let's go!" he said giddily, moving very quickly.

The two of them were at the front of the class within seconds, Serena's heart racing from both the running and Ash's surprise hand-holding, though he let go as soon as they reached the lineup. They had to wait for a couple of minutes as the pairs of students in front of them received their eggs, but finally, they reached the front of the lineup, and Reggie looked over at them from his spot near a desk with a few eggs still remaining.

"Well, Ash and Serena," he said, taking a glass incubator from underneath the desk and opening it up while the two trainers walked forward. "I must say, I'm quite happy to see that you two will be working together. Ash's experience will come in handy, and you should be able to keep him from getting carried away, Serena."

"I won't get carried away," Ash said confidently. "I'm not letting this Pokemon or Serena down. We're acing this thing."

"Exactly the kind of thing I'd expect to hear from you, Ash," Reggie said, laughing as he placed the incubator on the table. "Now, I assume you were both listening when I mentioned that some of these eggs would be taking longer to hatch." Both Serena and Ash nodded, and Reggie smiled, reaching for the same light blue egg with black circles around it. He carefully picked it up, showing it to the pair, before placing it within the incubator. "This is one of those eggs," Reggie told them, as he closed up the incubator. "I am confident that the two of you will be more than capable of raising this one."

Ash nodded immediately, taking the encased egg from Reggie. "You can count on us, Reggie. This will be the best Pokemon in the whole class!"

Serena smiled, reaching out and placing a hand on the glass case, feeling the urge to show the Pokemon inside that she wanted to care for it. When she did so, she was almost sure she could feel a warmth passing over her body. It was so sudden that she winced a little from the shock. She glanced up, seeing that Reggie hadn't noticed, as he was looking away at the time, but that Ash had, the raven-haired trainer looking at her almost knowingly.

"Ready to do this?" he asked, holding out a fist while carefully holding the case in one arm.

"Yeah," Serena assured him, reaching out with her own fist and bumping it against his, "we won't give up till it's over."

* * *

Shauna rolled her eyes as she looked down the street, tapping her foot impatiently. "Hurry up, Clemont," she whispered to herself. "How long does it take to get out of a class?"

She was currently waiting outside of the Greninja Building, waiting for Clemont to arrive from his last class of the day. He'd mentioned that he'd wanted to show the egg they'd received to his sister later on, and Shauna had decided that she'd like to come along. She'd found Bonnie to be quite entertaining in their first meeting, so it would be pretty fun to see her again.

The thought of the egg made Shauna feel a little more irritated at Clemont. He'd taken it first to his class, and Shauna had barely gotten to see it at all so far. She was kind of relieved that she didn't have to take it to her Fashion class, as it would've been a bit hectic, but she did want to get some time with it, and Clemont was taking forever.

Finally, though, after about three more minutes, Shauna could see the inventor panting as he desperately made his way down the sidewalk, looking almost like he was going to pass out. The egg was in his arms and Shauna was glad to see that he hadn't damaged it. She knew he was responsible, but he _was_ a bit clumsy, so that had been a bit of a concern for her.

When Clemont finally came to a stop in front of her, Shauna put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "You realize you're late, right?" she asked, pursing her lips.

"Yeah, I know," Clemont wheezed out, taking a few more deep breaths. "Sorry...Turtwig...got out of...his pokeball. He started eating...notebooks."

With that bit of knowledge, Shauna's irritation quickly turned to amusement, and she had to bite back a laugh. "That Turtwig is...something else."

"He sure is," Clemont said, nodding. After a few more deep breaths, he finally straightened up and held up the case with the egg. "Anyways, I've got the egg. It's in good condition. Sorry if I made you worry about it."

Shauna shook her head, reaching out and taking the case from him. "No, it's okay. I'm just excited to get going." She paused and took a look at the egg, wondering just what it could be. It was a light pink colour, with a cream-coloured crescent shape near the top of it. The fact that it was pink had made Shauna excited about it immediately. She held up the case so that the sunlight filtered through it, shining brightly on the egg. "This is going to be an amazing Pokemon," she whispered, mostly to herself, although Clemont still heard.

"I hope so," he said, looking like he'd managed to recover from his attempted running. "It seems like it'll be a pretty tough assignment even if we do a really good job of taking care of the egg. We don't even know if the Pokemon is going to be interested in battles, performances or contests."

"We'll figure it out," Shauna said with a shrug. "We'll just take it one step at a time and once the egg is hatched, _then_ we'll worry about the next step." She paused a moment, looking at Clemont expectantly, but when he didn't say anything, she assumed he was just trying to extend his little break a bit longer. "Are we going to your place now? I thought we were showing your sister the egg."

"Yeah," Clemont agreed, straightening himself up and taking a deep breath. "Yeah, let's get going."

For a couple of minutes, the two of them walked in silence, but Shauna was quickly becoming bored with only the sounds of the city, so she decided to speak up, curious about what Clemont may have noticed about...something. "So Clemont," she started, smirking a little as he turned his head and looked at her, "I've been wondering something," she finished, deciding that she'd see if he knew more than she thought he did.

"Wondering what?" he asked, clearly clueless about what she was talking about.

"What do you think about Ash and Serena?" Shauna asked, laughing at Clemont's confused expression while she asked the question.

"Well, I think they're both great friends. I guess I'm getting to know Ash a little better since we're roommates, but they're both great." He paused a moment and then narrowed his eyes, still looking confused. "Is there something wrong?"

Shauna shook her head quickly. "No, definitely not. I was just wondering if you'd noticed anything about them."

"They seem to be pretty good friends," Clemont noted, adjusting his glasses as he thought. "Ash knew Dawn before they came here, but he seems to already be just as good friends with Serena. Maybe even closer."

Shauna felt like doing a little cheer at that. If Ash and Serena were already that close, then clearly something was going right. "Do you think they could be more than friends?" she asked after about a minute of silence.

"Of course," Clemont said, laughing a little as though the question was silly. "I think they already are. Other than you, Serena spends most of her time with Ash, and with Ash, he spends most of his time with Serena if not with me or training with his Pokemon."

"I don't mean as in 'best friends'. I mean...more," Shauna added, shaking her head in exasperation. "I think you might be more dense than Ash is when it comes to this stuff."

"Dense?" Clemont asked, looking like he didn't know whether to be offended or just confused by the statement. "About what? What do you mean then?"

Shauna rolled her eyes, wondering why she'd even bothered bringing this up with Clemont. Next time she was bored while with him, she was just going to stay bored. She thought for a minute about what to say to him, and then remembered what Serena had mentioned about the Gym Leader from Shalour City who'd been here a couple of days ago. "What did you think of Korrina when you saw her the other day?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Clemont said, his voice a little bit higher pitched than it should've been. "I...I thought she was nice. She was friendly."

"Serena mentioned something about you saying she was...what was it...pretty?" Shauna giggled as Clemont's face turned bright red. "So I guess that's true then. Okay, so basically, the way you think of Korrina, is how Serena thinks of Ash. Except that Serena knows Ash a little better."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clemont muttered, looking away. "I don't even know Korrina."

Shauna sighed at that, realizing that Clemont hadn't even picked up on what she was saying. She decided to drop the subject, knowing that they couldn't be too far away from Clemont's house by this point.

Her thoughts proved to be correct, as within another couple of minutes, Clemont led her down a walkway and up towards the doors of a little house with a mini Luxray figurine in front of the door. Clemont quickly knocked, looking a little nervous, like he was expecting trouble. A moment later, Shauna realized why.

The door whipped open, and within a second, a little girl was kneeling in front of Shauna, eyes shining as she looked up. "It's you again! Shauna! Will you please take care of my brother?" She then stopped, looking between the two of them in confusion. " _Are_ you taking care of my brother?"

"No! Stop it Bonnie! I've told you a million times!" Clemont whined, fuming as he stared at his sister, looking mortified.

Shauna just laughed it off, though, and looked back at Bonnie. "Sorry Bonnie, that's not it. Clemont and I are just working on an assignment together. We're just friends. It's nice that you approve of me, though. Maybe I'll consider it."

" _Really?_ " Bonnie asked, eyes wide. She looked like she'd just won the lottery. She turned to Clemont and gave him a dark look. "Don't be stupid big brother. This is your chance!"

"Maybe not today, Bonnie," Shauna said, still laughing. Clemont's bright red face and mortified expression was almost too much. "Why don't we show you the really cool egg that we got instead? There's probably a really cute Pokemon inside."

Bonnie didn't even hesitate, her eyes going to the egg in Shauna's arms. "Okay, come on in," the little girl finally said, stepping back and waving for Shauna and Clemont to enter.

"Wow, thanks for letting me in my house, Bonnie," Clemont muttered sarcastically.

"Anything for you, big brother," Bonnie said back, smirking at him.

Within a few minutes, the three of them were sitting in the kitchen, Clemont having made some tea for everyone. When he sat down, he looked over to Bonnie. "Where's dad?"

"He said he had to go do some work with Professor Sycamore," Bonnie explained, leaning down and picking up Dedenne as the Antenna Pokemon scurried into the room. "He left just before you two got here."

"He's _still_ working with Professor Sycamore," Clemont said, shocked. "Wow, what is it that they could be doing?"

"Don't ask me," Bonnie muttered, looking dejectedly at Dedenne. "I don't get to do anything fun, and nobody ever invites me to do anything. I wish I was a trainer."

"Aw, don't worry, Bonnie," Shauna said quickly, moving her chair over to sit closer to the blonde girl. "Clemont, maybe Bonnie can help us take care of our egg. I bet she'd be really good at it. Obviously we need to do most of the work, but we could still use her help."

Clemont couldn't help but smile at that, noticing Bonnie's wide and excited eyes. "Yeah, maybe we can arrange something," he said, as Shauna passed the egg, still in its case, to Bonnie. "We have to be very careful, though, okay Bonnie? This is a very important assignment, not only for our grades, but for the Pokemon in that egg."

"I know," Bonnie said seriously, looking at Dedenne, then Shauna and then Clemont. "You can count on me, big brother. I won't let you guys down."

 **Author's Note:**

Anton and Gabby...Laverre University battler and performer. Very interesting. Now, it's kind of hard to make a rival that doesn't seem like Paul, because, well, Paul was an awesome rival. So, I've got a couple of different things planned with Anton, but being a bit of a prick who doesn't like playing with others is just a necessary bit of rival material I guess. Gabby will be particularly interesting, though. I like what I've got planned with her.

As for the other stuff. I am a bit overboard on Shauna being an "amourshipper" (for lack of a better word). I'll ease up on that (unless you enjoy it), but I used it to set up next chapter, which will be kind of fun.

And to answer a question. Misty and other past travel companions are not showing up. Not in this story anyways. In a sequel...quite likely.

Hope you enjoyed, and I will see you next time. I've got a few things coming this week, so be on the lookout for that. You may hate me after one of them (maybe both), but we'll see.


	18. Something More

**Author's Note:**

Here we are with Chapter 18. Not much to say here, so read on and I'll see you at the bottom.

 **Chapter 18: Something More**

The rest of the week had gone by without much activity, as Clemont and the others had been busy with their classes, training and taking care of their eggs. Clemont had been struggling to keep up with Shauna and her desperate need to run around with and without the egg, making him go to meet her before and after classes. He'd been very happy when the weekend had finally arrived, and everyone had decided that as soon as classes had ended, they'd all head over to the training facilities to get in some training. And currently, that involved a fairly heated battle between Clemont and Luxray, and Ash and Greninja.

"Luxray, use Swift!" Clemont shouted, adjusting his glasses and pointing ahead as the Gleam Eyes Pokemon lowered his body, stretched out his tail behind him, and then swung it forward, unleashing a barrage of golden stars towards the opposite end of the field. "Try to stop this, Ash!" he said confidently, looking ahead to the raven-haired trainer, who narrowed his eyes, looking back confidently.

"We will! Greninja, deflect with Cut!" he countered, seemingly mimicking the frog-ninja Pokemon as the latter placed a webbed hand at his hip, quickly pulled upwards, and revealed a white blade of light. He quickly slashed outward as the first star reached him, slicing it in two and causing it to shatter at his sides, exploding into showers of sparkles that made Shauna, Dawn and Serena all cheer at the sidelines. As Greninja deflected the rest in similar fashion, Clemont couldn't help but wonder if Ash was trying to put on a show. He did seem to be glancing over at the three girls quite a bit. "Now, use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered quickly, bringing Clemont's attention back to their battle.

"Gren!" Greninja shouted, bending low to the ground before bolting forward, barely visible with his incredible speed. Clemont could only blink in surprise as the frog-ninja Pokemon leaped up above Luxray, spun around, and delivered a swift kick to the electric lion's side.

"Luxray!" Luxray roared in pain, as he was thrown into the air from the impact. He was carried a few feet before landing hard on the ground, sliding a few more feet before coming to a stop.

"And Luxray is unable to battle! Greninja is the winner!" Trevor called out, clearly unsurprised by the result. Well, everyone seemed to have expected it, but Clemont was still happy with the effort that Luxray had given. Greninja and Ash were just...way too much.

Clemont made his way over to his fallen electric type, as Ash did the same at the other end of the field. The inventor knelt down next to Luxray as the Gleam Eyes Pokemon managed to sit up a bit, wincing a little, but smiling just a little at the sight of his trainer. "You fought really well, Luxray," Clemont told him honestly. "I'm really proud of you. Not many Pokemon would've done that well against Greninja."

"He's right, Luxray," Ash said, as he and Greninja walked up behind Clemont. "That Thunder Fang you landed at the beginning of the battle really got the match going. We needed to sharpen up after that. You and Clemont are a great team."

"Gren greninja," Greninja added, nodding in respect to the electric lion.

"Lux," Luxray grunted, nodding in thanks to both Ash and Greninja. His eyes then slowly closed as exhaustion took him, and Clemont quickly recalled him into his pokeball.

"Hey guys, that was a great battle!" Shauna exclaimed, as she, Dawn, Tierno, Marie and Serena made their way up onto the battlefield, Trevor joining them as they approached Clemont and Ash. Shauna held their egg up briefly, showing Clemont that it was okay, before continuing, looking at Ash. "Since when did you and Greninja learn Performance techniques?"

"I guess I've been watching Serena train too much," Ash admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Whenever I get the egg from her, I always watch her train for a bit. I guess I got that idea from watching Pancham using Arm Thrust on Sylveon's Swift."

"I thought that it looked familiar," Serena said with a smirk, walking forward and handing Ash their egg, gently patting the glass case as she did so, almost like the Pokemon would feel it. "You pulled it off pretty well," she said, stepping back.

"It definitely caught Luxray and me off guard," Clemont noted, thinking of how quickly Ash had been able to strike after stopping the Swift attack. "We'll need to be much better prepared if we want to do well next week."

Ash nodded, holding up a fist and smiling confidently. "We'll need to be better prepared as well, right Greninja?" he said, turning to the Ninja Pokemon. "We've been training hard, but who knows what we'll be up against next week. I don't want either of us to let up. I'm going with you first, okay?"

"Gren!" Greninja answered confidently, doing a fist pump.

"I think you two will be fine," Clemont said, laughing along with the rest of his friends as they watched the pair. "You don't seem to have any problems."

"Just don't give up till it's over and we'll all be fine," Serena added, nodding at Clemont's words.

"Anyone else want to have a battle?" Ash asked, looking around at the group. "I think Pikachu's ready to get some battling in, and I'd like him to be ready just in case."

"You'll need to get all your battling done tonight, Ash," Shauna said mischievously, smirking at him. "You're going to be pretty busy tomorrow."

"Oh, that reminds me," Serena said suddenly, looking a little flustered at Shauna's words, but managing to ignore it. "I told Nurse Joy I'd go and check up on Absol tonight since I won't be there tomorrow night. I should probably head over there now. Are you okay with the egg, Ash, or do you want me to take it?"

"I can come with you if you want," Ash suggested, as he pulled out Greninja's pokeball and recalled the frog-ninja Pokemon inside. "I've been meaning to head over and check on him as well."

Serena smiled, looking a little excited at the idea, but then Marie walked over to the Performer, stepping between her and Ash. "I've gotta head over there as well," she said, passing her egg, which was pink with a white stripe in the middle, over to Dawn. "I'm helping Nurse Joy since it can get kind of busy on weekends."

"Okay, well then I guess I'll stay here," Ash said, smiling at the two of them. "I'll keep the egg, though, since you took it most of the day," he added, looking at Serena.

"We should probably go and practice a Contest battle," Dawn said to Tierno a moment later. "You may have beaten me in the tryouts, but we could both use some more practice. And remember, not all Contest battles can be won by a knockout."

"Sure, sounds like a good idea," Tierno said. "I'll take the egg, Trevs, if you're staying here," he told Trevor, who nodded, while picking up his bag which had the egg in it, a yellow egg with a couple of green spots. He and Dawn then headed off to one of the open battlefields at the other end of the room.

"We'll head off too, I guess," Serena said, turning to Marie, who nodded, shouldering her backpack. "I'll probably be there late, so are you okay with the egg for the day, Ash?" she asked.

"Of course," he assured her, giving a thumbs up. "You can count on me. I guess we'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, and then you guys can get ready for your da-" Shauna started, before Serena quickly cut her off, eyes wide.

"Yeah, see you then!" Serena nearly shouted, before quickly turning and walking away quickly, Marie struggling to keep up.

"What was that all about?" Clemont asked, watching as the two girls left.

"You're so clueless," Shauna muttered, shaking her head as she looked at Clemont, before turning to Ash. "And Ash, you need to open your eyes."

Ash exchanged a confused glance with Clemont, glanced up at an equally confused Pikachu, and then looked at Shauna. "What do you mean? I haven't done anything wrong, have I?"

"She's been saying some weird stuff lately," Clemont muttered, eyes widening as he spoke, not having meant to say it out loud. Shauna glared at him, even taking a threatening step forward. "I mean...um...about things like...the egg...and...eating dinner with it. It was...strange...but...I guess it's actually a...good idea..."

"That did seem kind of silly to me," Ash admitted, shrugging. "But I like spending time with Serena, so if she's happy to go out then why not?"

Clemont blinked a few times in confusion hearing that. Even to him, those words sounded kind of strange coming from Ash. He adjusted his glasses and shook his head, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things, and then turned his gaze to Shauna, seeing her looking equally stunned. When he looked back at Ash, Clemont could see the raven-haired trainer looking a little awkward, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling a little. "Um...what do you mean, Ash?" Clemont asked.

"Well...I don't really know," Ash admitted, looking at Pikachu as though the electric mouse might be able to provide an answer, but he just shrugged. "Is there something I'm missing here? It seems like this is kind of a big deal. We're just gonna get some food, right?"

"Oh no no no, Ash, you need to do more than that!" Shauna said excitedly, doing a little jump, eyes lighting up. "Listen to me, Ash, you need to do more than just have dinner. I am not going to let you mess this up.

"Mess it up? Mess what up? I'm still kind of confused about this whole thing," Ash muttered, giving a panicked look towards Clemont, who shrugged back, equally confused. He turned back to Shauna, looking completely perplexed. "Shauna, I think it's better if we just see how it goes. I don't want to do anything crazy."

"But Ash, don't you realize you're going on a-" Shauna started, smirking at him.

"We're just eating together. We do that almost every night. What's the big deal?" Ash asked, shaking his head in exasperation. Clemont was a bit surprised by it, but he had to admit it. Ash was probably being the more logical of the two right now.

Shauna pursed her lips as she stared at Ash a few moments, glancing at Clemont a couple of times irritably, almost like she could sense that he was internally agreeing with Ash. "Fine, I'll leave it be for now," she finally said, sighing. "Just...do a little more for Serena, okay? She likes spending time with you."

"I like spending time with her as well," Ash said simply, as he picked up his backpack and carefully put his egg inside, having to remove the sleeping Rowlet first. "Now," he said, putting the backpack to the side, "how about another battle? Pikachu's ready for some action!"

"I'll battle you!" Trevor called out, making Clemont and the others jump. He'd been so quiet that they'd forgotten he was there. "How about Pikachu against my Aerodactyl?"

"Sure," Ash agreed, looking at Clemont. "Can you referee?"

Clemont nodded. "Of course. This will be good preparation for me as well. I can study some of the things you do in battle a little better from the sidelines.

As Ash and Trevor made their way to each side of the battlefield and Clemont moved to the middle, Shauna followed, standing just to his left. While Ash and Trevor got ready, Shauna looked at Clemont, clearly thinking hard about something.

"Something wrong?" he asked, a concerned look coming to his face.

"Well," she started, looking seriously at him, "I was just thinking. Since Ash isn't taking any advice about Serena, I should give you some advice about that gym leader."

* * *

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Korrina called out, thrusting her hand forward as she made the order, smiling confidently as she noticed her grandfather's Lucario widen his eyes from his vulnerable position in midair.

Her own Aura Pokemon responded immediately, pulling his arms to his sides, the blue sphere quickly forming, and then thrusting forward, launching the attack upward.

"Deflect with Bone Rush!" Gurkinn yelled, sounding like a man half his age. His own Lucario smiled at the command, quickly forming the long, white light that appeared like a bone between his hands. He then swung forward as the Aura Sphere reached him, slicing it in two and having it explode at his sides, smoke forming around him.

"Watch out, Lucario!" Korrina yelled, narrowing her eyes, knowing this must have been her grandfather's plan. "He's gonna come through that smoke. Be ready with Bone Rush!"

"Ru ru!" Lucario answered, nodding and lowering his body, forming the bone within his hands.

"Double Team!" Gurkinn called out calmly, making Korrina swallow nervously. Her grandfather sounded too confident.

Suddenly, she noticed movement in the dissolving smoke cloud above them. First one Lucario, then another, and another and another. They all started dropping down from the smoke cloud, all of them forming an Aura Sphere without need for a command. However, it came a moment later.

"Launch Aura Sphere now!" Gurkinn yelled, pointing forward.

Korrina winced, seeing the barrage of attacks rush towards her Lucario, but she did her best to remain calm, just like him. "Use your aura and sense where the real one is and dodge it!" she ordered quickly, closing her own eyes as Lucario bowed his head slightly.

Korrina couldn't see anything, but she listened carefully as the attacks rushed towards her partner. She could just hear the whistling in the wind. It was just from one attack, though, and she could hear it coming from their left. Her eyes shot open and she pointed in the direction of where she'd heard it, just as her Lucario's head shot up, raising his arms and thrusting out with Bone Rush. The Aura Sphere was deflected to the side easily, crashing to the ground and shooting up a large cloud of dust.

"Now," Korrina started, turning her attention forward, to where she knew her grandfather's Lucario was, hiding among his copies, "use Au-"

"Bone Rush! And follow it up with Close Combat!" Gurkinn yelled confidently, while Korrina watched on in shock.

Gurkinn's army of Lucario copies were rushing forward, each holding a bone, having had a head start as Korrina's Lucario deflected the Aura Sphere. They were on the lone Lucario in an instant, overwhelming him as they surrounded him and slashed forward. There were too many and they were too fast for him to focus on which one was real, and as he slashed out at a couple to his right, the real one came from his left.

"Ru!" Korrina's Lucario grunted in pain, as he was struck in the jaw by Bone Rush, staggering back.

That wasn't it, though, as Gurkinn's Lucario quickly closed the gap, the bone disappearing as he thrust out with both fists in a barrage of punches. Korrina winced as her Lucario was brutally beaten back, punches going to his jaw, chest and stomach. Eventually, he could take no more, and dropped to the ground, unable to continue.

"It looks like I win, Korrina," Gurkinn called out, as his granddaughter rushed forward to her injured Pokemon, his own stepping back to give her space. "Again," he added, as he slowly walked forward towards her.

Korrina gritted her teeth, holding Lucario up as he managed to get in a sitting position, grimacing in pain. "I might've had a chance if we'd used Mega Evolution," she argued, although she didn't really know if that was true. She was mainly just irritated that whenever she battled her grandfather, he never allowed the use of Mega Evolution. Part of her did wonder if it might give her a chance, though.

"Korrina," Gurkinn said, smiling down at her, looking a little sympathetic, "Mega Evolution is still a new challenge for you. You may have learned how to control some of the power, but you are still just starting out on the long journey you must take to become a true Mega Evolution trainer."

"Well I don't understand why," Korrina muttered, looking down at her Lucario in her arms, seeing that he was glaring at Gurkinn like he still wanted to battle. "We know how to use it," she pointed out, holding up her Key Stone that was on the back of her glove. "We trained hard to control the power it had over Lucario. He listens to me when we use it. That's what you sent me to Pomace Mountain for, right? So what else do I need to do?"

"Korrina, as you learned at Pomace Mountain, there is more to Mega Evolution than simply mega evolving your Pokemon and battling," Gurkinn said patiently, exchanging a small smile with his Lucario. "I understand why you are eager. I am happy that you are so eager. However, I do encourage you to be patient. Continue to build your bond with Lucario, and your other Pokemon. Learn about yourselves without Mega Evolution, and then you will learn more about its value and its place within your life."

Korrina frowned, looking down at the ground and shaking her head a little in confusion. "Why didn't you tell me there was so much more to this way back when I first got the Lucarionite with Lucario? All you did was send me to Pomace Mountain and then let me resume Gym Leader duties until you decided I should go to school. Is it that you don't think I'm good enough?" she asked, somewhat bitterly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Korrina," Gurkinn said sternly, giving her a look that told her not to speak that way again. "Even uneducated, you are among the best of the Kalos gym leaders. Even now, your talents are regarded by some as the best. However, to be the best simply because of Mega Evolution, when you are capable of being so without it...well, I think even you can see why you must learn more."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were telling me to be more than just a Gym Leader," Korrina said, not with bitterness, but curiosity.

Gurkinn was silent a few moments, staring up at the ceiling in the battlefield, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. "Perhaps, Korrina," he said finally, keeping his gaze upwards, "however, that is more about what you decide to do with your future. You are so young, that the possibilities are endless."

Korrina narrowed her eyes in confusion, looking at Lucario, noticing he seemed baffled as well. It was almost like Gurkinn was telling her that he wanted her to abandon the family tradition. After generations of running the Shalour City Gym, did he want it to end so suddenly? And for what? What could he possibly think Korrina could do that was better than continuing what they both considered a sacred responsibility.

"Korrina, it's the weekend," Gurkinn said, after a few moments of silence. He looked at her, amusement in his eyes when she gave no response. "Why don't you relax for the day? In fact, you should take the whole weekend off. I'll deal with any challengers, and you can relax with your friends. The IPL starts next week, so I think you need some time to clear your mind."

Korrina shook her head, uncomfortable with the idea of leaving her already overworked grandfather in charge of the gym. "You have other things to take care of. I'm fine with running the gym. I'll take Lucario over to the Pokemon Centre quickly and then we'll be ready to go. I've got all my homework done, so you don't need to worry about that."

Gurkinn shook his head, smiling at his granddaughter. "You know better than anyone that I can handle a little bit of extra work. Besides, with our first match being in Coumarine City, there isn't that much to do here other than arranging for travel. I think I'd much rather have you get your mind off battling than take an unnecessary break myself."

Korrina sighed at that, realizing that her stubborn grandfather wasn't going to budge on this. "Fine," she muttered, as she helped Lucario to his feet. "Make sure you don't overdo it, though, okay?" she told Gurkinn, giving him a knowing look. "You can get more excited about a battle than me sometimes."

"Well I don't know about that," Gurkinn said with a laugh. He then gave a short nod, a signal to assure Korrina he would indeed take it easy. "Not to worry, Korrina. I'm aware of my limits. Lucario and Blaziken are also here to keep me from getting out of hand. Just go and enjoy yourself."

Korrina bit her lip as she wondered about what she could do. She had friends, sure, but she often felt like an outsider whenever hanging out with them. Since she spent so much time training and battling trainers at the gym, she hadn't exactly built the best social life. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay here?" she asked, somewhat desperately.

"Go on, Korrina," Gurkinn said shortly, nodding to the doors of the battlefield. "If you hurry, you might be able to walk into town before the tide comes in. I'll take the boat over later on to pick you up, so you don't need to worry about that."

Korrina finally relented, pouting a little and turning around with Lucario. "Fine," she muttered, as they made their way to the door. "I'll see you later," she finished, as she and Lucario walked through the doors, neither of them particularly excited about having to "relax" for the day. As they walked through the rest of the Tower of Mastery, making their way around the Lucario statue, Korrina tried to think of anything they might be able to do. "We need to occupy ourselves with something, Lucario," she said, as they exited the tower into the morning sunlight. Korrina squinted at the brightness of the sun, but continued as they stood at the steps a moment. "I guess the Pokemon Centre is the first stop."

"Ru," Lucario grunted, rolling his shoulder a bit as if saying he didn't need to go. He never really liked the Pokemon Centre, always preferring "toughing it out" over spending time with Nurse Joy to heal up. He only went because Korrina told him he needed to, and even then, whenever possible, he preferred quick healing from berries and potions whenever they were available.

"I know," Korrina said, smiling sympathetically at her loyal partner, "but you need to go. I don't want you to hurt yourself. It was a tough battle against my grandfather."

"Ru ru," Lucario muttered, looking away, but nodding in acceptance.

"Hey," Korrina said, patting the Aura Pokemon on the back, "we'll get 'em next time, okay? If my grandfather is right about one thing, it's that we still have more to learn. Whether he's right about the whole Mega Evolution thing or not, we'll still get better either way. We've got a lot of tough battles coming our way, and by working hard, we're going to become really strong." She smiled, looking ahead at the city, the low tide just barely bringing the ocean's waves over the path. "We've got the runners up from last year's IPL to go up against, and all three of Lumiose University's Battle Team trainers are really strong. I bet Coumarine College will be tough as well. We're going to have a lot of fun."

Lucario turned his attention to Korrina, looking a little more enthusiastic as he seemed to be thinking about the great battles ahead of them. "Ru ru!" he exclaimed, punching the air a couple of times.

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Korrina said confidently, turning back to look at the city. She was definitely excited about all that the IPL would bring. She had no doubt that battles would be challenging and exciting. There was a bit of sadness in her walk, though, as she and Lucario began walking. When she'd been in Lumiose City last week, she'd seen a group of people that could truly enjoy this journey together. She wanted that, and as Captain of her team, she needed to build that.

* * *

Serena sat in her room, wondering just what to do. She'd just finished visiting Absol at the Pokemon Centre for the afternoon, and had returned to her and Shauna's dorm room so that she could get ready for the...well she didn't really know what to call it. _Is it a date? I don't think it's fair to call it a date. Oh Shauna, why did you have to do this? It just makes things more uncomfortable._

It was pretty stressful as she sat there, glancing at the small clock that she had on her desk. It was 5:30pm and she'd planned to meet Ash at 6:00pm. That left her only half an hour to get ready, and she had no idea whether she should just be dressing in her regular clothes, or in something...a little more. She didn't want to make Ash feel nervous about how he was going to be dressed, but if he did dress in something else, she didn't want to look like she didn't care.

Serena took a deep breath and stared at her door, debating with herself on whether or not to call out to Shauna who was tending to her and Clemont's egg in her room. Shauna _had_ put Serena into this position after all, so it was only fair if she helped out. "Shauna!" Serena called out, shaking her head a little in amusement as she heard her friend quickly moving from her room. A moment later, and Serena could hear Shauna's door open, and quickly following that, her own door opened.

"What is it?" Shauna asked, looking concerned as she looked at Serena, who was sitting on her bed with a few outfits next to her. A smirk came to Shauna's face as she realized what was going on. "Aw...you don't know what to wear, do you? Well I can help you with that!"

"Well, it's not really that," Serena said, blushing and avoiding eye contact. She hadn't exactly admitted anything to Shauna yet, so this was all still quite embarrassing. "I just...I don't know if Ash is going to be wearing anything fancier, so...I was wondering if you could...go and check?"

Shauna burst out laughing at that. "Are you serious?" she asked, still giggling as she spoke. "I mean, I doubt he is. It is Ash after all, but if you want me to go and check, sure. I can just pretend like I'm asking Clemont something about the egg."

"Please, Shauna, I'm kind of stressed out about it," Serena admitted, glancing at all of her clothes. "I don't want to look stupid."

Shauna looked back at Serena a moment, her amusement slowly leaving her face. "Yeah," she said, nodding quickly and turning around. "I'll go and see what's up." She turned around, but just as she was going back through the door, she turned her head back, narrowing her eyes a bit. "I certainly hope he's wearing something nice, Serena. I think he knows a little more than I thought he did." With that, she quickly made her way out of the room, and a moment later, Serena heard the door opening and closing from the front hallway.

 _Knows a little more?_ Serena thought, feeling her face heating up even more, despite the fact that she was alone in the room. Did this mean that Ash suspected anything? Serena bit her lip, absentmindedly tapping the bed with her fingers. She didn't think that Ash had picked up on that much. It seemed like everyone else had, but he'd seemed to pass off any awkwardness she'd had around him as nothing more than a few strange actions. Serena smiled at the thought. She actually thought it was kind of cute.

As she sat and waited for Shauna, Serena thought more about what was going on with her and Ash. They'd known each other for about three weeks now, and the more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. It was kind of hard for her to not admit that she had a crush, but she didn't really know the extent of her feelings just yet. She was nervous about what this date, she supposed she might as well call it a date, would bring. Maybe it would make things awkward between them. Maybe they were just friends.

She didn't think that was true, though. As she continued to think about it, her nervousness turned into excitement. Ash would never let anything get awkward between the two of them. At least, not from a simple little date like this. And if there was more there...if Serena's furiously beating heart and her urge to jump up and down in excitement were a sign of something more, then she needed to find that out. She wanted it to be more. She could admit that now.

At that moment, Serena heard the door open in the hallway, and then a few seconds later, Shauna appeared at the door to her room, smiling excitedly. "Serena, go ahead and pick out something nice. Ash looks great!" She then pursed her lips and gave Serena an apologetic look. "I mean...you know...he's dressed nicer."

"Really?" Serena asked, surprised, but also feeling quite happy. "Wow...I didn't think he would," she admitted, looking down, a giddy smile on her face. A thought then came to her mind and she glanced up at Shauna, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Hold on...you didn't _make_ him dress up, did you? I don't want him forced into anything."

Shauna quickly shook her head, looking slightly hurt by the accusing question. "I wouldn't do that, Serena. I wanted to help you out, but I think I realized yesterday that I should just let you guys do your own thing tonight. Ash actually helped me realize that."

"Oh," Serena muttered, feeling a little embarrassed for her accusation. "I'm sorry...I'm just...nervous. I want this to go well. It's a little bit stressful."

"I guess that's my fault," Shauna muttered, twirling her finger through her hair in embarrassment. She then glanced up, looking at Serena's clock, Serena following her gaze and seeing she needed to hurry. "Okay, I'll help you pick something out, and then you get cleaned up and get ready to go," Shauna said seriously, standing up straighter. "Sound good?"

Serena nodded, laughing at how serious Shauna looked. "All right," she said, picking up a couple of her outfits. "Let's hurry then."

It didn't take too long for Serena and Shauna to pick out an outfit. Serena had a feeling Shauna was judging them all based on what would go with whatever Ash was wearing, so she didn't really mind the aggressiveness her friend had in her judgements. Within a few minutes, she'd quickly washed up in the bathroom, put on her outfit, and was ready to go. She would've liked to have had more time, but she was still happy with the results.

She was wearing a fairly simple white sundress with white dress shoes. She supposed if she spilled anything on herself it would be quite a mess, but she did like how comfortable it was and she looked quite good if she was being honest with herself. After shooting down the other outfits, Serena didn't know why Shauna had picked such a simple one up until now. But now, she realized it was perfect, partly because of how simple it was. When she went back into her room and reached for her hat that was on her desk, she did feel like one thing was missing, though.

"Hey Serena!" Shauna suddenly said, sounding quite excited. "Why don't you wear this as well?"

Serena turned around, glancing at what was in Shauna's hands. When she saw what it was, she knew it was perfect, and couldn't help but wonder if Shauna somehow knew what she was doing, despite it being impossible. "It's perfect!" Serena said, reaching for the straw hat that Shauna had taken out from one of the drawers. Serena placed it on her head, remembering the last time Ash had seen her in a straw hat. Maybe it was time to see if he remembered anything from that day. She stood back, holding her hands out as Shauna looked at her. "So...do you think Ash will like it?"

"If he doesn't, we're throwing him off the top of Prism Tower," Shauna said, laughing.

"He might be okay with that," Serena said, shrugging. "He _has_ jumped off of it before."

"Well let's go see if it's necessary, then," Shauna said, nodding her head to the door. "I need to see his face when he sees you. Too bad Trevor's not here with his camera."

As they made their way out of their dorm room, Serena couldn't help but let her nervousness creep back into her. She was still excited of course, but she still couldn't help but wonder if Ash would like her outfit, or if he would see this as anything different than two friends hanging out for the night. Once again, she was finding this very stressful.

"Relax, Serena," Shauna said, as they stopped out front of Ash and Clemont's room, raising her hand up to knock. "Just have fun. Ash likes you for being you." She then knocked on the door, and Serena instantly heard the sounds of feet moving on the other side. A moment later, and Clemont had opened the door, looking a little startled at the sight of Serena.

"Oh...hi...wow," he stammered out, blinking a few times and then looking away. "Um...I'll go get Ash," he said quickly. "You guys can come in if you want."

"No need, Clemont," came Ash's voice from the small hallway around the corner behind the inventor. "I'm ready to go." At that, Clemont quickly backed away, stepping to the side as Ash emerged, the raven-haired trainer coming to the doorway and then freezing as soon as he saw Serena, the egg he had in his arms, nearly dropping. "S-S-Ser-Serena..." he stammered, eyes wide as he looked at her. "Y-you look...great." He shook his head, as if to get himself out of a daze. "Wow, yeah, you look great," he said again, finally managing to bring his confident smile to his face.

Serena felt as though she couldn't really risk speaking much at the moment, but forced herself to squeak out a quick reply, her cheeks burning as she spoke. "You look nice as well, Ash," she managed to say, glancing at his blue dress shirt and black dress pants. He wasn't even wearing his hat, which he looked a little strange without, but clearly it wouldn't have fit with these other clothes.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu's voice suddenly spoke from the ground between the two. Serena glanced down, wondering if the electric mouse was going to be coming with them.

"Oh, you want to stay with Clemont?" Ash asked, smiling down at his partner Pokemon.

"Pika," Pikachu said simply, casting a quick glance towards Serena, smiling at her. At that moment, she loved that little yellow mouse.

"Okay, I'm happy with that," Clemont said happily, kneeling down and petting Pikachu between the ears, getting a happy "chaaa" from him. "You can count on me, Ash."

"Thanks, Clemont," Ash told him, smiling at the inventor. "Well all right then," he said, stepping out of the room, Serena backing up a step to make room for him. "I guess we'll see you guys later," he said, looking at Shauna, Clemont and then Pikachu. "Ready to go?" he asked, looking at Serena, and smiling somewhat awkwardly.

"Yeah," Serena said, smiling back, feeling her excitement return. As they began walking down the hallway towards the elevator, Serena glanced back at Clemont and Shauna, noticing the latter giving one last mischievous wink as they rounded the corner, out of sight. It was official. She was on her date with Ash.

* * *

Ash was kind of lost on what to do at the moment, as he and Serena walked along the sidewalk on their way to the restaurant. He couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous as he wore these dressy clothes, but earlier in the day, as he'd thought about going out to dinner with Serena, he decided that he needed to put some more effort into this night. She deserved it. It was still awkward, though, and he noticed a few people smirking at the two of them as they walked. It didn't exactly help that he was carrying a Pokemon egg in one arm, and that his other arm was dangling next to Serena's and he had a strange desire to reach out and hold her hand.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Serena suddenly asked, and he glanced over to see her looking at him in concern. "You've been pretty quiet ever since we left."

Ash nodded, giving her his best fake smile. "I...I'm okay," he managed to say, taking a quick deep breath and then continuing. "This is just...a bit different I guess. I don't really know what's going on here. This isn't really just for the egg, is it?"

"No, I don't think so," Serena admitted, pursing her lips and looking away in embarrassment, her cheeks turning a little pink. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Shauna was just being silly and I still went along with it. That wasn't fair to you."

"Whoa, hold on!" Ash exclaimed, stopping and looking at her, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder, feeling a strange sense of warmth as he did so. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's a little...strange, I guess, but...I _did_ want to do this, Serena. I _do_ want to spend time with you." He felt a little surprised with himself as he said those words, but he knew they were true. He really did like Serena, and even though he didn't really understand what this all meant, he knew that he wanted to spend time with her and have fun with her.

"Really?" Serena asked, smiling a little at his words.

"Really," Ash said seriously, removing his hand from her shoulder, but then reaching down and taking her hand in his. "This will be a fun night, okay? Sorry if I didn't make you think I was excited about it. I am. I've been looking forward to this all week."

"Thank you, Ash," Serena whispered, glancing down at their hands. Ash was wondering if she'd pull her hand away, but instead she looked back up at him, smiling. "Let's get going. We don't want to be late for dinner." She smirked, nodding towards Ash's stomach. "I'm sure you're pretty hungry, knowing you."

As if on cue, Ash's stomach rumbled loudly, and he looked down, wide-eyed with embarrassment. "Uh...yeah, I guess you're right about that," he said, laughing a little. "Hopefully the food is as good as Shauna says it is."

They walked the rest of the way in silence after that, although now, Ash could tell both of them were much more comfortable. They got a few more stares from people passing by, but something about walking hand in hand with Serena actually made Ash a little more confident as they continued to make their way through the streets of Lumiose City.

As the sun began to set, the sky turning a dark shade of orange, Ash could see Prism Tower just ahead, stretching out in front of him, the sun just above the top. He heard Serena gasp at the sight, and smiled at her, enjoying the sight of her shining eyes staring up at the sky. He would've been tempted to just stand there and watch the sun continue to set with her, but just then, her gaze moved to the right, and she pointed ahead.

"There's the restaurant!" she said excitedly, bringing Ash's attention forward. "Oh look, they have a patio. We can sit outside!"

"Awesome!" Ash said, as the two made their way forward towards the restaurant. It didn't look too big, but Ash could tell it was somewhat fancy, as he noticed a couple of people, two couples, sitting outside and dressed quite nicely. Inside, it looked even fancier, with dim lighting across the walls, and candles in the middle of the tables. The patio looked much preferable, though, with a canopy over top of the tables and a fence in front, decorated with flowers. Even for someone who wasn't into this stuff, Ash could appreciate how nice it was.

After a few minutes, a waiter seated them, seemingly taking a liking to the two as he placed them at the corner of the patio with a perfect view of Prism Tower, so they could both watch the rest of the sunset, the lights of the tower now turning on as it grew darker. Once they got their menus and a couple of drinks, they watched the view for a few minutes, before finally Serena spoke up.

"Ash, this is really nice," she said, turning her gaze away from the tower and looking across the table at him. "I know this isn't really your thing, but I really appreciate you coming here for me. It means a lot, so thank you."

Ash blinked, not really knowing what to say. He could tell that Serena looked a little awkward, even noticing her cheeks turning a little pink in the moonlight that was now washing over the city. She kept her gaze on him, though, smiling shyly. He felt his heart beat a little faster as she looked at him, his mouth drying up a bit. He had the urge to take a drink of water, but stopped himself, worried he'd drop it with his shaking hands. He finally took a deep breath, and met Serena's gaze. "Maybe it's not really my thing, but I'm enjoying it," he admitted, shrugging. "And I'm happy to do this with you. Maybe next time Shauna doesn't need to set it up and I can come up with the idea myself."

Serena's eyes widened at that, and she stared back, mouth opening up a bit in surprise. "N-next time?" she asked, voice a little higher pitched than usual.

Ash looked away, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, not even having fully realized what he'd said. However, glancing back at Serena and seeing the hint of excitement in her eyes, he knew that "next time" was definitely something he wanted. And next time, he would definitely make sure it was his idea. As much as he liked Shauna, he preferred it that way. "Yeah," he finally said, smiling confidently, "next time."

Serena smiled widely and folded her hands in front of her, leaning forward excitedly. "I'd really like that, Ash."

"But for now," Ash said, gesturing around them, "we might as well focus on _this_ time, right?"

At that moment, a waiter came to their table, looking somewhat amused at the still slightly awkward pair. "Bonjour," he said, with a thick French accent. "And how iz ze lovely couple, zis evening?"

"Couple?" Ash asked, blushing at the comment, noticing Serena doing the same. "Um, well, we're friends, sir. Good friends, but not a couple."

"Oh really?" the waiter said, chuckling in amusement as he looked between the flustered pair. "No, I believe zer is more to it zan zat. Ze two of you look at each other with a sparkle in your eyes. Definitely more zan just friends."

"Um..." Ash glanced at Serena, seeing her looking down at the table, desperately avoiding eye contact with both Ash and the waiter. He didn't really know what to say to argue with the waiter, so he just held up his menu and quickly made his order. Serena managed to squeak out her order as well, and then the waiter looked at the two of them again.

"Young man," the waiter said, looking Ash in the eyes, "you are quite lucky. Do not forget zat. Zis girl is something special."

"I know she's special," Ash said indignantly, a little louder than he'd meant to, getting a glance from the people from the other tables. He bit his lip, glancing around nervously before looking back at the waiter, who smiled, before walking away. "Uh...sorry," Ash muttered, looking at Serena and grimacing from embarrassment.

"You don't need to be sorry about anything," Serena assured him, a giddy smile on her face. "That was kind of awkward, but it's okay. Um..." she fiddled with her straw hat that she'd placed on the table in front of her. Ash's eyes were drawn to it in that moment, and he suddenly had a weird image in his head of a Poliwag. Serena's next words snapped him out of his thoughts, though. "What do you mean by special?" she asked suddenly.

"Special?"

"Well, you told the waiter you thought I was special...I'm just wondering why." She continued fidgeting with her hat, finally stopping as she realized she was picking a piece of it off in her nervousness. "Do you really think I'm special?" she added.

"Well of course," Ash said honestly. "You and all my friends are special." He didn't know if Serena really liked that answer completely, but she nodded, smiling slightly at the answer. "And you, you're so supportive and kind and a really great Pokemon trainer. That's why _you're_ special. You might not know it, but when I came here, I was still struggling with my loss at the Kalos League. I still am a little bit, but with you and everyone else, I've been feeling so much better. And I think it's helping Greninja and I. I can feel that we're almost there. We've nearly got that connection back, and you know what, I think with all the time I spend with you in particular has been really helpful. I always know I've got you there to support me."

"I feel the same about you and how you support me," Serena said, smiling brightly at Ash's words. "I know I was disappointed after I lost to Aria at the Masterclass, but my friends have helped me as well, and I think you, Clemont, Dawn and Marie have been a big part of me getting my groove back."

"Your groove? You're sounding like Tierno," Ash told her, laughing at her choice of words.

"Yeah," Serena said, laughing as well. "Next thing I need to do is find my rhythm."

Ash shrugged, thinking about Serena performing for the tryouts. "I think you've already got that taken care of. Even without Braixen you seemed to be performing way better than everyone else at the tryouts. I can't wait to see you in action next weekend. Laverre University's got no chance to win with you performing. And obviously Shauna's really good as well. Not to mention Tierno and Dawn for Contests."

Serena nodded, leaning forward in excitement. "It should be really fun!" she exclaimed. "And with how your tryouts went, you, Trevor and Clemont are already battle-ready. It should be really fun to see you guys in action. Right, Captain?" she added with a wink.

"Haha...yeah, I'm still not used to that," Ash muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You deserve it. You said _I'm_ supportive...but Ash, I've never seen anyone as supportive and helpful as you. If it wasn't for you, Trevor wouldn't have made it through those tryouts. You've even inspired the rest of us with how helpful you are." Serena shrugged, turning her gaze up to Prism Tower. "You're more than just the Captain of the Battle Team, you're the Captain of Lumiose University."

"Maybe we won't take it that far," Ash said awkwardly. "Look at what you've done for Absol since he was hurt. You've been there for him every day. I haven't done that."

"Maybe," Serena said, turning her gaze back to him, "but if it wasn't for you, he might not have been saved. And I'm inspired to look after him because of you, and how much you care for Pokemon. You'll be a Pokemon Master soon, Ash. I know you will. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"And I'll do what I can for you as well, Serena."

 **Author's Note:**

I'll admit, some of this chapter was a bit awkward. I wanted to make Ash sort of pick up on the obvious, so that meant stopping Shauna's savagery for a little bit. The Korrina part was fun, as that sets up a little something for later. And then there was the date. Not too much, but oh boy these two are getting closer and closer are they not? Closer with their egg as Shauna says...

Next chapter will lead into the IPL...and then...things _really_ get going. I am so excited for that.

Now, a little message for those who are interested in the lemon that I wrote. I had to delete that from my FanFiction account, as it was being reported for being too descriptive of sex. Apparently lemons are not actually legal on FanFiction. Obviously doesn't seem to be a problem for most, but if reported, it can be, and I don't want the account suspended. Before you get too upset, it is still up on Wattpad. On there, I am Amourshipping Dude. Go wild over there if you wish.

Nothing else for today. I'll see you all next time.


	19. The Arrivals of New Rivals

**Author's Note:**

Another chapter! Hooray! And this one is a special one. Laverre University is coming to town, and the IPL is about ready to get started!

 **Chapter 19: The Arrivals of New Rivals**

 _Greninja, use Cut!_ Ash could feel the intensity of the match. It made his heart race faster and faster. There was nothing but the Pokemon on the battlefield, and him and his opponent. The crowd might have been nonexistent. Perhaps the crowd _was_ nonexistent. Ash didn't really know. All he knew, was that Greninja was rushing forward, his blade of white light slashing into his opponent. An opponent he couldn't quite see.

 _Use Dragon Claw!_ the opposing trainer yelled, and Ash's eyes moved to him, again not quite able to see who it was. What was happening? He shook his head quickly, trying to focus on the opposing trainer, seeing him smirking as his Pokemon rushed forward. Ash thought he could just see a little bit of blue from a scarf around the trainer's neck.

He was distracted, though, as he suddenly noticed a green light rushing towards Greninja, shaped like a massive claw. It slashed down, striking the frog-ninja Pokemon in the shoulder, sending him staggering back. Ash gasped in pain, clutching his own shoulder as he also felt the attack. _Greninja!_ he called, grimacing from the pain. _Greninja, are you all right?_

 _Gren!_ Greninja shouted, standing up straight and nodding back to his trainer, the red fins on his head now noticeable. Ash smiled confidently, knowing they had their connection back. Their true power. Their path to victory.

 _Good, then let's give it everything we've got. Water Shuriken!_ Ash yelled, bringing his hands behind his own back as Greninja did the same, pulling the giant Water Shuriken from it.

 _Counter with Thunder Punch!_ the opposing trainer yelled, and Ash again looked to him, feeling like his eyes were playing tricks on him. He could see the blue scarf and black hair, but then suddenly, it was a black shirt and spiky brown hair. It kept changing back and forth.

Then, suddenly, their was a roar in front of Greninja as he tossed his Water Shuriken forward. Ash could see a massive, black creature with wings spread out and blue flames shooting from its jaws. As the watery ninja star rushed towards it, it pulled back a fist and thrust forward, a yellow glow around the fist as it became engulfed in electricity. The Water Shuriken exploded on contact, sparks shooting out from the fist after the attacks collided. Then, the massive Pokemon began flying forward, straight towards Greninja. _Electi electivire!_ it yelled suddenly, seemingly changing shape and becoming a bulky, black and yellow Pokemon. It thrust forward with an electricity-covered fist, and slammed it into Greninja's chest, sending him flying back.

 _Ah!_ Ash gasped in pain, holding his chest and bending over, closing his eyes. _G-Greninja,_ he choked out, forcing his eyes open a bit and looking forward. He could just barely see the Ninja Pokemon rising to his feet, also clutching his chest in pain. _Greninja, are you okay?_ he called out in concern.

 _Ninja,_ Greninja called back, straightening up, seemingly trying to put on a brave face as he looked towards his opponent, backing up a step once he looked. Ash followed his gaze, shocked to see a tall, green, reptilian Pokemon with a leafy tail and seeds all along its back. What was going on? Why was the opponent changing?

 _Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!_ a new voice ordered, and Ash could just barely see green hair, and perhaps a notebook in the trainer's hand. Ash glanced back towards the reptilian Pokemon, seeing it rush forward with a glowing green blade extended from its arm. It reached Greninja within seconds, and slashed outward, hitting him in the stomach. Ash's eyes bulged from the pain, and he could hear the wind whistling in his own ears as Greninja was sent flying back from the attack.

The frog-ninja Pokemon hit the ground hard, and then skidded along the ground, before coming to a stop. Ash gasped for air, feeling the wind knocked out of himself by the impact of the attack, but both he and Greninja stubbornly kept going, not willing to back down. _We can do this, Greninja,_ Ash said, gritting his teeth and doing his best to ignore the pain. _Aerial Ace, let's go!_

 _Counter with Gyro Ball!_ yet another new voice shouted, making Ash jump in surprise. He could see a white beard now, and a blue jacket. And the Pokemon that Greninja was running towards was a four-legged Pokemon seemingly made of ice. It suddenly began spinning rapidly, looking like a drill as Greninja soared through the air towards it, leg outstretched and glowing white.

 _Gren!_ Greninja shouted in pain, as his leg met the Gyro Ball, sparks shooting out from the impact. Ash could feel it too, his whole leg vibrating from the impact. Then, suddenly, he felt a spinning sensation, quickly growing dizzy as Greninja was spun around, cuaght in the Gyro Ball. Finally, the attack ended, and Greninja was tossed back, slamming into the ground in front of Ash, not moving. Ash felt the exhaustion come over him. He could feel his mind going blank. His eyes closed, and he began to fall, knowing he'd lost the battle.

A moment later, though, Ash suddenly felt cold air around him, making him shiver as he held his winter jacket tight around him. _Wait...winter jacket?_ Ash glanced down, noticing that he was sitting on a log, snow underneath it. As he looked around, he could see snow everywhere, drifting down through the trees surrounding the small clearing Ash was in. He could see a few Fletchling chirping on a branch up above, snow falling as they hopped up and down. _The Winding Woods?_

Ash felt his heart beating faster and faster once again, and tears stung his eyes as he looked around. Something about this was terrifying him. _Was it a dream? Am I still here? It had to be real. Serena's real. Clemont's real. Dawn, Trevor, Tierno, Shauna, Marie...Lumiose University. My friends..._

 _Ash!_ He looked up, staring around. That voice. It seemed so familiar. _Ash, wake up!_

 _I can't see you!_ Ash called out, standing up and looking around the clearing. _Serena! Is that you?_

 _No, Ash, it's me, Clemont!_ Ash shook his head, suddenly realizing it was a different voice. It seemed closer. Again, he looked around, squinting his eyes, wondering where it was coming from. Where was Clemont? Why did he hear Serena?

 _Clemont? Where are you?_ Ash called back, reaching out, almost like that would help him find his friend. _I'm lost. I don't know how to get out._

 _Pikapi!_

"Pikachu?" Ash's head suddenly shot up, his head whipping from side to side as his eyes shot open, taking in his surroundings. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light in the room as he looked around the classroom he was in. Students were staring at him, a few of them smirking in amusement, and others looking at him in concern. Ash's eyes then went to his lap, where he could see Pikachu sitting up, looking curiously at his trainer. "Pikachu!"Ash exclaimed, looking happily at his partner Pokemon. "You okay, buddy?"

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu answered happily, a relieved look coming to his face as he looked up at Ash. He then looked to Ash's right, and Ash followed his gaze, noticing Clemont sitting next to him, the inventor looking both relieved, but also a little embarrassed.

"You...fell asleep," he said to Ash, glancing awkwardly behind the raven-haired trainer, looking at something. "You were yelling a lot. Kind of distracted the class from the lecture."

"Oh..." Ash looked back down to Pikachu, rubbing the electric mouse between the ears and then looking up and around the class at all the students staring at him. His gaze then went to the left of his seat, which was by the aisle, noticing just where Clemont's gaze had gone. "Sorry Professor Sycamore," Ash said, looking down, feeling guilty. "I guess I'm just tired. I've been training a lot lately for our first match this weekend."

Sycamore looked at Ash for a few moments, not looking angry, but more curious, and a little bit concerned. He folded his arms, looking deep in thought as he looked around the classroom, eyes finally resting on the screen at the front, which displayed his lecture notes on his lesson about the ability Technician, a picture of a Scizor shown to demonstrate an example. "All right, class, that'll be all for today," he called out, waving his hand dismissively before turning back to Ash. "You and Clemont should come down and speak to me once the class has emptied out, all right?"

Ash nodded, and as the students began filing out of the class, he quickly began packing up his things, careful not to disturb Rowlet in his backpack, and then turned to Clemont, just as he was finishing packing up as well. "What kinds of things did I say while I was sleeping?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to remember everything that had happened in his dream.

Clemont chuckled a little, shrugging as he looked back at Ash. "Well to start with, it was just attacks. I guess you were dreaming about a battle with Greninja, right?" Ash nodded, also chuckling as he thought of how he must've looked as he fought a battle in his sleep. "So it was pretty basic with that," Clemont continued. "Basically you were just shouting out Greninja's attacks, and telling him to dodge, and those types of things."

Ash could tell there was more coming, and he sighed, looking seriously at Clemont. "What else did I say? I know it wasn't all just a battle."

"Uh...well you started sounding pretty scared. You were panicking as you told Greninja to 'hang in there' and then you were gasping in pain a lot." Clemont frowned, looking like he was debating about whether or not to mention something. "A few times you were saying something about not wanting to lose again and how you were scared to lose. Then when we started to wake you up, you started shouting about how you needed to train harder because you couldn't let _it_ happen again. I'm not sure what _it_ is, but that's what you said. Then you seemed to be waking up. You thought I was Serena for some reason, and then finally you opened your eyes and woke up, thanks to Pikachu."

"Scared to lose...I don't remember saying that in my dream," Ash whispered, exchanging a look with Pikachu. "I mean...I don't want to lose, of course, but...I'm not scared." Ash could hear the doubt in his own voice as he said that, wondering if he'd believe himself if he wasn't the one speaking.

"Ash. Clemont," Sycamore called out, bringing the two trainers' attentions to him at the front of the class. Ash glanced around, noticing that everyone had left by now. "Could you two come down here, please?" Sycamore asked, gesturing to where he was standing.

Ash and Clemont quickly made their way down, exchanging a nervous glance as they approached the Pokemon Researcher. Ash didn't know why Clemont was involved with this, and was worried that his friend would get scolded for letting him fall asleep. However, when the two of them came to a stop in front of Professor Sycamore, he smiled at them, not looking the slightest bit angry. "Relax, you two," he said, chuckling a little. "It wasn't the most exciting lecture, Ash, so I don't blame you for falling asleep. However, I do hope you'll take it easy. You might be pushing yourself a little too hard with Greninja from what I heard."

"I need to keep working hard," Ash argued, looking at Pikachu, who nodded back, before turning back to Sycamore. "Greninja and I are so close to getting back to where we need to be. We're going to be ready for our battle on Sunday. I just know it!"

Sycamore stared back at Ash a few moments, before finally taking a deep breath and nodding slowly. "Just be careful. You don't want to get away from what it is that got you there in the first place. Not to mention what else may be guiding you back."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"Never mind that for now," Sycamore said, glancing at Clemont, before returning his gaze to Ash. "That is something that we will deal with in time. I actually asked to meet with you two for another purpose."

"What's that?" Clemont asked, exchanging a somewhat nervous glance with Ash.

"Laverre University is arriving this evening, and we'll need our team ready to meet them," Sycamore explained, eyes lighting up in excitement. "I'd like you two to get the others ready to go. And Ash, you and Dawn, being the captains, will be expected to greet them first."

Ash felt his excitement rise and looked at Clemont, who also looked excited, but also a bit nervous. "Sounds good, Professor Sycamore," Ash said, pumping his fist. "The IPL is truly about to begin!"

* * *

Clemont was panicking just a little bit as he got into his team uniform in his room. He couldn't help but feel a little silly as he put it on. He was far more comfortable wearing his typical jumpsuit, but instead, he had to put on this jacket, which was far more of an Ash-like thing, and he didn't really think it suited him. Along with the black, yellow and blue hat with the roaring Luxray at the front, Clemont thought he looked a little ridiculous.

 _Whatever, I guess I'll just get used to it. As long as I can keep my backpack on, it should be fine,_ Clemont thought, as he shouldered his backpack and slipped on the hat. He glanced down at his jacket, looking at the wording at the top, identifying him as a member of the Lumiose University Battle Team. As silly as he thought the uniforms were, he had to admit, he kind of liked that.

After a quick check to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, Clemont stepped out of his room, nearly colliding with Ash as he stepped out of his, also in his team jacket and hat. "Oh hey Clemont," Ash said happily, smiling at the sight of his friend in an unfamiliar look. "Ready to get going?"

"Uh...yeah," Clemont said, nodding and closing his door, while Ash closed his and shouldered his backpack, Pikachu hopping up onto his shoulder. "I have to admit," Clemont muttered, as they made their way to the front hall and opened their door, "I'm kind of nervous about this whole thing. The IPL seems like it'll be pretty tough, even though we've got a good team. And I'm starting to feel the pressure."

Ash nodded, closing the door and turning to walk down the hall towards the elevator with Clemont. "I feel it too," he admitted, frowning like he was mad at himself for it. The look quickly left his face, though, and he looked up confidently. "We just need to look at this like any other battle," he said, holding up a fist. "We work with our Pokemon, give it our all, and then we have a blast while battling."

Clemont chuckled at that, pausing a moment when they reached the elevator and entered. "You make it sound so simple," he finally said, as they started heading down.

"Well," Ash said quietly, looking like he was deep in thought, "I know it's not always that simple."

"Is this about your dream...or I guess nightmare?" Clemont asked, as the doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby. They started to make their way outside, seeing Serena and Shauna waiting for them out front.

"It's nothing," Ash said, shaking his head and looking ahead with his confident smirk back on his face. "I'm fine."

Once the two of them stepped outside, Serena and Shauna quickly turned around, smiling at the sight of them. "Wow, your uniform looks great, Ash," Serena said, blushing a little as she spoke. "Um...you two Clemont," she added, looking a little embarrassed.

"You look awesome as well," Ash said excitedly, smiling back. "Clemont feels a bit awkward in his, but I think these fit us pretty well.

Clemont paused, taking in the sight of the two girls in front of him. They were wearing black dresses, that were a little more casual than most of the ones Clemont ever saw. They were tighter around the waist where a yellow stripe separated the top half of the dress with the blue skirt. They also wore black stockings with black shoes that must've come with their uniforms. On the front of their dresses was a blue bow, which seemed to fit well with Shauna, but Serena seemed slightly uncomfortable with it. They also had the same hats as Ash and Clemont, which surprisingly went well with their dresses.

"I guess we'd better get going," Ash said, looking around. "Dawn and the others are meeting us at the Pokemon Centre, and then Laverre University will be showing up pretty soon after that."

"Okay, then what are we waiting for?" Shauna said, taking Serena's arm in one hand and Ash's in the other and pushing them ahead down the path to the sidewalk. "You two walk ahead. Clemont and I need to talk about the egg assignment." Clemont frowned at that, since Professor Sycamore had arranged for Nurse Joy to watch their eggs while they greeted Laverre. However, Ash and Serena didn't argue, despite their nervous glances at one another.

Once Ash and Serena started walking ahead, talking quietly, Shauna joined Clemont and the two of them followed. "What is it about the egg that you wanted to talk about?" Clemont asked, after they'd walked for a couple of minutes and Shauna hadn't said anything. She seemed more interested in Ash and Serena's hands, which were dangling next to each other. Clemont noticed them twitch towards each other a couple of times, but ignored it other than that.

"Oh...yeah," Shauna muttered, glancing at Clemont and grinning sheepishly. "Well...it was more that I thought those two should talk. Our egg is fine. You've been doing a great job with it, I can tell."

"You have as well," Clemont told her, trying not to sound surprised. He hadn't quite expected her to be as capable as she'd been. "I'm sure it's going to be an awesome Pokemon that hatches from the egg, and a lot of that will be because of you."

"Careful, Clemont," Shauna said, smiling at the compliment, "if Bonnie hears you saying things like that, I don't think you'll ever hear the end of it." She then winked, giving him a little nudge. "And maybe I'll want to take her up on her offer."

Clemont's eyes widened at that, and he looked at her nervously. "Uh...I wasn't saying...I mean...I'm not...I-"

"Relax, Clemont," Shauna laughed, shaking her head as she looked ahead. "I'm just messing with you. You and Ash are just too much fun."

"You're a confusing girl," Clemont muttered, adjusting his glasses as he looked ahead.

"And you are a dense boy," Shauna shot back, giggling as she looked back at him. "Don't worry, Clemont, I'll help you out. We still need to work on those two, though," she said, pointing ahead at Ash and Serena. "That date should've done more."

"Date? All they did was go and have dinner and then walk around the city with their egg, how was that a date?" Clemont asked, immediately regretting it when Shauna glared at him. "Well...you did tell Ash it was something for taking care of the egg, so..."

"Ash figured that out," Shauna pointed out. "And what do you think a date should be if it isn't going out to dinner and walking through the city?"

"I guess I'm not the one who should be deciding what a date is," Clemont admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "But if it was a date, wouldn't they...you know, be a..."

"That's where Ash is the problem," Shauna said, sighing.

Clemont shrugged, not really wanting to get involved. He would be happy for Ash and Serena, of course, but since he was somewhat clueless about everything going on, he kind of wanted to stay out of it. "Serena doesn't seem bothered by it," Clemont pointed out, noticing the Performer happily chatting away with Ash as they walked.

"Serena doesn't seem to get bothered by anything," Shauna said, laughing as she looked ahead at their two friends. "She wasn't even mad about her Masterclass loss. I think I was more mad about it than her. I was probably more upset about _her_ losing than I was about _me_ losing."

"According to Bonnie, you two had the best performances in the whole Masterclass," Clemont said, remembering Bonnie explaining how amazing Shauna and Serena were.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Shauna said, looking pleased with that. "Well, at least for me. Serena deserved it, though."

"Do you think you've improved since the Masterclass?" Clemont asked. He'd only seen her in the tryouts, and in her screening battle, so he didn't really know how talented she was when it came to performing, other than what Bonnie, Serena and Ash had mentioned.

"Of course I've improved," Shauna said, somewhat indignantly. "I've trained a lot, even if you guys don't notice while you're battling away at the training facilities. I don't think I'm as good as Serena just yet, but I'm getting there."

Clemont nodded, holding his hands up in mock surrender as she spoke. "Yeah, of course, I guess I'm just making sure you're ready for your matches tomorrow. You and Serena go up first, don't you? It's the Theme Performance, the Freestyle Performance and then the two Contest battles."

"Yeah," Shauna said, looking up and clenching her fists. "Yeah, I think I'm ready. Serena and I haven't decided which of us will be doing the Theme Performance and who will be doing the Freestyle Performance, but maybe we'll get an idea after meeting up with the Laverre team. I wonder what they're going to be like."

"Well according to Korrina, they're pretty strong. Not just one team, but both of them made it to the finals last year," Clemont explained, thinking back to what the Shalour Gym Leader had said. "Apparently there was one of them scouting us out during our tryouts."

"I guess we've got them nervous, then," Shauna pointed out, laughing at the thought. "It's not only us that needs to think about how good they are. We've been pretty successful as well. This match will be a true test to see how official battles, contests and showcases stack up against the IPL competition."

Clemont hadn't really thought about it that way, but realized it was true. Especially in the cases of Ash, Serena and Dawn, all having been runners up in their competitions in the past. Going up against the runners up from the IPL would be a good way to see if the competition was evenly matched. Clemont was pretty sure it was, though, considering what Korrina had said. Not to mention, with what Ash had said about Korrina, the Shalour team was probably pretty strong as well.

They continued walking along in silence after that, and then suddenly, Clemont noticed Ash and Serena stop up ahead, and past them, he could see Dawn, Trevor and Tierno all waiting in front of the Pokemon Centre. Dawn was dressed much like Shauna and Serena, while Trevor and Tierno were in jackets similar to Clemont and Ash, however, Clemont expected that Tierno's probably identified him as part of the Performance Team.

"Ready to do this?" Ash asked, as Clemont and Shauna stopped behind him and Serena. "We're finally here, and it's time for us to prove how hard we've trained."

"I'm ready when you are," Serena said confidently, glancing back at Clemont and Shauna. "Are you two ready?"

"Let's do this!" Shauna shouted, raising a fist in the air. "Go Lumiose Luxrays!"

* * *

When Ash and the others arrived, Dawn immediately started feeling excited, knowing that things were truly about to begin. She was nervous, of course, but despite her struggling in her match against Tierno, she knew she'd been training hard, and she had full confidence that she and Piplup, along with all of her other Pokemon, would be able to get through this. And as Captain of the Performance Team, she needed to set an example, and that started today. She had to be strong, alongside Ash, as they met their new rivals.

"Lookin' good Serena and Shauna," Tierno exclaimed, as the two performers, Ash and Clemont joined the group out front of the Pokemon Centre. "Serena, you should save your next date for-"

"Thanks Tierno," Shauna interrupted loudly. "You look okay as well, although maybe we'll need to get you a dress so you can fit in better. I'm sure you'd look good dancing in a dress."

Dawn laughed at that, noticing Tierno go bright red from embarrassment. "Very funny," he muttered, looking away and narrowing his eyes.

"So are you guys ready for this?" Dawn asked, deciding to change the topic. "I can't believe it's finally here. I feel like we've been waiting for months to get the IPL started instead of just a few weeks."

"I'm so psyched!" Ash exclaimed, pumping his fist. "Greninja and I are ready to go on Sunday for sure. I hope you've got your Performance Team ready for tomorrow," he added, laughing. "Captain Dawn needs to have everything sorted out."

"Well I think we're ready, don't you guys think so?" Dawn asked, smiling at Tierno, Serena and Shauna, seeing them looking determined.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow, but I know I'm ready for it," Serena said confidently, adjusting her hat. She looked a bit like Ash as she did it, and Dawn bit back a laugh as she noticed Ash fiddling with his as well, doing nearly the exact same action. "I'm sure Laverre University is every bit as good as Korrina told us they were. We can't take them lightly."

"Definitely not," a voice behind Dawn said, and she turned around, noticing Professor Sycamore exiting from the Pokemon Centre, Marie walking along beside him. "Laverre University has recruited many of the best up and coming trainers for their school," he explained, as they stopped in front of the group. "It seems their sole focus is to win the IPL, rather than to educate their students, which is a shame, but I suppose the IPL does provide some learning experiences."

Dawn bit her lip nervously at his words, exchanging an awkward look with Ash. They'd been interested in the schooling aspect of Lumiose University, but the IPL had definitely been an attractive part to applying. She did see where Sycamore was coming from, though, especially since he'd organized this school. Seeing another school focus on little more than their battling and performing teams and gain a better reputation solely because of that would definitely be frustrating.

"So they don't even focus on their classes?" Serena asked, looking confused. "I've been looking forward to the IPL since coming here, but the classes have been really interesting, and I've loved learning all the things being taught here. I've learned so much more than I thought I would, and I've made great friends because of coming here. It's silly if the IPL is all that they care about."

"I agree," Sycamore said sadly, looking down the street expectantly, obviously thinking Laverre would be arriving soon. "Valerie, who a few of you know, has begun teaching some classes there, though, and she will be coaching their Performance Team. I believe she expects a certain standard for her team in terms of their classes."

"Valerie gave me a pretty tough battle when I challenged her gym," Ash told the group, eyes lighting up with the memory. "Talonflame, as a Fletchinder, and Hawlucha, were both able to get me the win, though. She knows how to get the battle on her terms, so watch out when it comes to Contest battles," he said to Dawn and Tierno. "And she can make her moves flashy. I think she's also a-"

"She's a really good fashion designer," Serena added, smiling apologetically at Ash for interrupting. "She made the outfit I wore in my performance for the tryouts."

"I bet she'll have designed a pretty good uniform for the Laverre teams then," Trevor pointed out, fiddling with his camera. "Hopefully that doesn't give them an advantage in performances."

"We've got good uniforms," Ash pointed out, standing up straight and spreading out his arms. "I think we're fine."

"Well, we're about to see what they've got," Marie said, getting Dawn's attention and pointing down the street. Dawn turned her head, feeling her heart thudding in her chest as she looked, seeing the small bus that their new rivals were approaching in. "The IPL begins now."

They all watched on in silence as the bus pulled over at the side of the street in front of the Pokemon Centre. It wasn't a big bus, but it definitely had enough room for the seven students inside and the two teachers and driver. On the side of the bus facing them, there was a purple stripe with the words Laverre Spritzees in white letters. Dawn smirked at the name, but quickly realized that they might think the same about Lumiose Luxrays, so she put on a straight face, stepping forward with Ash and Professor Sycamore as the doors of the bus opened.

The first person to step out was someone Dawn sort of recognized, and she realized it was someone who'd been watching some of the battles during the tryouts. He was a man with purple hair and angry black eyes, wearing a black suit, clearly trying to look as professional as possible. He looked at Dawn and Ash, gave them a quick nod, and then shook hands with Professor Sycamore. "Hell Professor," he greeted quietly. "Not much of a welcoming party, but I suppose you had few resources."

Dawn tensed up angrily at that, but Ash quickly nudged her, noticing, and then Sycamore answered. "I ensure that resources go to my classes over welcoming parties," he said in a friendly voice. "I hope you can understand that, Raphael."

"I suppose," the man, Raphael said, stepping aside to reveal a woman behind him, who gave a genuine smile as she shook Sycamore's hand, and then Ash's and Dawn's. She had long black hair, purple-grey eyes and wore massive purple clips in her hair. She was wearing a kimono dress which gave her the appearance of a butterfly, with the ends a creamy yellow and the insides a light pink.

"Valerie!" Ash exclaimed happily. "Good to see you again."

"You as well, Ash," Valerie said, smiling. "I saw you battle in the Kalos League. It was truly remarkable how you handled yourself. I hope that you will battle me again one day, and not just my students."

"Of course! I bet Hawlucha and Talonflame would love to battle you again," Ash told her, pumping his fist in excitement. "But for now, we've gotta focus on the IPL. I hope you've got a good team to go up against us with, because we're more than ready for you guys."

"I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with the team we've brought," Valerie said, amusement in her eyes. She gave a quick nod to Sycamore and Dawn, and then stepped out of the way, as the rest of the people in the bus, the Laverre University Battle and Performance teams, stepped out.

There were seven of them, just like with Lumiose University, and each were dressed in somewhat similar uniforms, although Dawn had to admit, they were a little more flashy with the purple, pink and black. The boys wore simple black jackets, with purple stripes on the sleeves and purple lettering to signal their team. The girls, meanwhile, wore black tank tops, a purple vest and pink skirts. Each member, just like Lumiose, had their own hat, a Spritzee on the front instead of a Luxray.

From what Dawn could see, there were two guys and one girl on the Battle Team, the girl with writing on her vest signalling her as a Battle Team member. The girl was short, blonde and had blue eyes, and her gaze seemed to lock onto Clemont and Trevor, behind them, clearly easily identifying them as members of the Battle Team. Dawn glanced back at them, noticing Clemont was staring ahead in shock, but ignored it as she made not of the other members of the Battle Team. First, there was a hulking, black-haired guy who was continuously cracking his knuckles as he studied everyone in front of him. Dawn had a feeling he wanted to do nothing more than fight...and not with Pokemon. Next to him, though, was someone who somehow seemed more intimidating. He had purple hair, and his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, despite it not being sunny out. It was intimidating how he seemed to stare at Dawn, but she had no idea if he was looking at her or not. He was continuously fiddling with a bandanna around his neck as he waited.

Dawn then glanced over at what she assumed was the Performance Team, which like the Lumiose one, consisted of three girls and one guy. The guy was tall, with dirty blond hair, the front of it sticking up in a cowlick. He was continuously snapping his fingers and tapping his foot, and Dawn immediately glanced back at Tierno, seeing him start tapping his own foot, almost like he was having a mini "dance-off" with this guy. She shook her head and looked at the others. One of the girls was a red-head, her hair going over her shoulders and blowing in the wind. She gave Dawn a friendly smile, which surprised her, considering the others hadn't seemed so welcoming so far. Next, there was a girl with green hair tied in a ponytail. She was glancing around at the sights around them and not even bothering looking at Dawn or anyone else.

And finally, there was the last girl, who Dawn noticed looked slightly like the guy on the Battle Team with the purple hair. She had long, pink hair herself, and had a little black bow in it, which she was carefully adjusting underneath her hat as she looked curiously at the group in front of her. She was the first to step forward, followed by the guy with the sunglasses and bandanna. "Hi there!" she greeted, holding her hand out to Dawn. "I'm Gabby, well, Gabrielle, but call me Gabby, and this is my ever joyful brother, Anton," she said, as she shook Ash's hand as well and gestured to the purple-haired guy, who just nodded in greeting. "Forgive him," she said, stepping back and smiling, "he's not the most social of people."

"Enough, Gabby," Anton muttered, giving her a quick glare before looking at Ash. "Finalist at the Kalos League, huh?"

"Yeah," Ash said, giving a friendly smile. "I'm Ash Ketchum. It's nice to meet you two, and all the others as well. We're looking forward to a great bunch of battles."

"Well...we'll see," Gabby whispered, as she glanced at the others behind Dawn and Ash, smiling. Despite her friendly greeting, Dawn sensed something a little off about this girl, as she looked at her friends. It seemed like she was looking for weaknesses, and nothing other than that. Now that she thought of it, Dawn thought the peppiness was a little forced as well. At least Anton seemed like he was being himself.

"I wouldn't count on it," Anton said, narrowing his eyes, and looking at Ash with what looked like disgust in his eyes. "You're little badges, ribbons and keys are no indication of any skill. I've gotten to where I am through my own hard work."

"Who says I haven't worked hard?" Ash asked, stepping forward and narrowing his eyes. Dawn quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him back, noticing Professor Sycamore stepping forward between them a moment later, and letting go quickly.

"That's enough...trash talk," the Pokemon Researcher said, smiling nervously and looking over to Valerie. "Um...how about we show you all where you'll be staying in the Pokemon Centre? Then we can get to know each other afterwards. Once we've eaten and you've rested up from your bus ride."

"That sounds like a great idea, Professor," Gabby said sweetly, winking at Dawn and walking by her. Dawn watched her go, and noticed that as she passed Serena, there was an exchange of looks between the two. "Excuse me _...Princess_ Serena _,_ " Gabby said as she walked by. There was no clear hostility in her voice, but as she walked into the Pokemon Centre, the rest of her team following behind her, Dawn locked eyes with Serena, and she could immediately see that she wasn't the only one to have noticed something was off.

* * *

"I didn't like that Anton guy," Ash muttered as he stuffed a huge forkful of food into his mouth. "He sheemed to have shumshing againsht gym battles," he barely managed to say. He swallowed and winced at how his food went down, and then looked back around the group. "He seemed to think I was less of a trainer and didn't work hard because of it. And did you hear him before he left to his room? I'm sure I heard him say something about how Pikachu should be in his pokeball."

Pikachu narrowed his eyes at that and glared at the ground from his spot on Ash's lap. "Pika..." he muttered, looking just as furious as his trainer.

"Gabby and the red-headed girl seemed like the nicest of the bunch," Trevor said, looking around the rest of the Pokemon Centre, clearly nervous that one of Laverre's team members would come out. "Most of them seemed pretty hostile. That girl on the battle team looked like she wanted to kill Clemont and me. And that guy who was snapping, he immediately starting trying to mess with Tierno."

Serena frowned as she listened to her friends discuss their meeting with Laverre University teams. She didn't really want to make a judgement just yet, considering, as Sycamore had pointed out, they hadn't eaten and had been on a bus for a while. However, Serena couldn't help but feel like something was off with the way that that girl Gabby had acted. She'd put on a friendly smile and had greeted Ash, Dawn and Sycamore nicely, and had even scolded her brother for not being friendly, but she'd seemed so...insincere. It seemed like only Dawn had noticed it, though. _Maybe we were just seeing things_ , Serena thought to herself. _Maybe with how most of the others acted, we just saw her as one of them._

She ate the rest of her food in silence as she listened to her friends talk. After a few more complaints about the Laverre team, the conversation did turn to the matches going on tomorrow. Shauna was the first one to bring up how the order should be decided.

"I know that Serena and I can battle if one of us switches with Dawn, since she's eligible for the performances, but we might as well stick with what we tried out for," she said, getting nods of agreement from the rest of the group, including Ash, Clemont and Trevor, who all seemed excited about knowing how they'd work their lineup. "I'm thinking I should do the Theme Performance, since Serena did so well in the Masterclass and then completely blew everyone away at the tryouts with her Freestyle Performance. She's on a hot streak and I don't want to mess that up. Plus, I did pretty well in the Theme Performance stage of the tryouts, so I should be okay with that."

Serena nodded, excited at the thought of getting to do the Freestyle Performance, although hoping that Shauna didn't feel like she was not good enough. "Sure...but you know you're just as good as me, right Shauna?"

"Uh...if you say so," Shauna said, giggling a little. "I think this is best. At least for the first match. Remember, we have five more. I can do a Freestyle Performance at some point."

"All right," Tierno said, turning to face Dawn, "so since they're settled on the performances, we should decide who takes the single Contest battle, and who takes the double."

"Well, if you don't mind a suggestion," Ash said, looking between the two coordinators, "I think Dawn should take the double battle. She's more experienced with that kind of thing and since you're starting out as a Coordinator, Tierno, you should work your way up and start with the single."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Tierno agreed, nodding. "I can get us the momentum that way, too. Blastoise and I will get the rhythm just right so Dawn can finish things off."

Dawn looked a little nervous, clearly thinking about how important her role was as the last member to compete on the team, but she straightened up, looking just like the Captain she was selected to be. "I'm sure you'll do great, Tierno. Serena and Shauna as well. We need to show what Lumiose University is capable of. Nobody knows what to expect from us, and we can give ourselves the reputation we deserve!"

"We'll show them just how hard we work," Ash added, narrowing his eyes and looking towards the hallway that led to the rooms the visiting teams were staying in. "Anton is going to be surprised."

"You'll be surprised at how strong Anton is as well, Ash," Clemont suddenly said, causing everyone to look at him in confusion. He glanced up, and Serena noticed he'd barely eaten any of his food. He looked quite uneasy. "Do you remember when I mentioned that gym battle I had a while back?" he asked, looking at Ash. "The one where I was really badly beaten?"

Ash nodded, leaning forward, resting his elbows onto the table. "Wait a second...you aren't telling me that..."

"Yeah," Clemont muttered, glancing at Serena, and then Shauna. "I battled him just after meeting you two, actually. He was waiting outside of my gym, just after beating Clembot with only his Hitmonlee. I finally agreed to battle him, and believe me, he was no different back then with how polite he was. Anyways, he managed to defeat Chespin with only one attack, and then after Bunnelby put up a good fight against Hitmonlee, Luxray was able to beat it. Then...his Scizor came out. With one Bullet Punch, Luxray was hurt pretty badly. If Gabby didn't interrupt, it would've been quite an embarrassing defeat."

Serena clenched her fists under the table, feeling frustrated at the thought of Clemont being humiliated like that. She felt bad, thinking of how he must've felt, mere hours after separating from her and Shauna. They were eating at a cafe at that time. Wait...the cafe...pink hair...

"I think I might've seen Gabby that day!" she exclaimed, looking at Shauna. "When were at that cafe. It was a brief moment, but now that I think of it, it looked a lot like Gabby, and..." She trailed off, not knowing if she should say what she'd thought about Gabby at the time. She glanced at Dawn, who seemed to realize what she was thinking.

"She seemed like the girl she was when meeting us today, huh?" the Coordinator asked, giving Serena a knowing look.

"Yeah...she seemed like something else all right," Serena muttered, raising her eyebrows and looking away. She could see Nurse Joy behind her desk, heading through the door to the back hallway, and remembered that Absol would probably be up by now. "I think I'm going to go check on Absol now. He'll probably be ready to eat."

She noticed Ash start to get up as well, but gave him a small shake of her head and a small smile. Serena obviously liked her time with Ash, but she felt like for the moment, she just needed to go spend some time on her own with Absol. She needed to clear her mind to be ready for tomorrow's competitions. He didn't take it the wrong way, fortunately, and he and the rest of the group waved as she made her way to the the front desk, and into the hallway, getting a nod from Nurse Joy as she did so.

When Serena stepped into the room that Absol was still staying in, her eyes immediately went to the bed, where he was still lying. However, instead of the very unhealthy Pokemon that had been barely able to stay awake when he'd first arrived, Absol was sitting up, looking at Serena as she entered. He still didn't seem to trust her completely, but as she approached, he blinked slowly, giving her his closest thing to a happy greeting with a nod. "Sol," he said, his voice still raspy.

"Hi Absol," Serena greeted, smiling at him and pulling up a chair to sit next to his bed. She raised her hand, looking at him as though asking permission to pet him. He looked hesitantly at her, but then seemed to remember the soothing feeling it often brought him, and he nodded, turning his head. Serena slowly began to pet his neck fur, seeing the Disaster Pokemon sigh in relief as she did so. "You're getting a lot better," she said, causing him to glance at her from the corner of his eye. "I bet you'll be out of the Pokemon Centre in no time. You've been so brave and strong, Absol. You kind of remind me of Ash."

"Absol," Absol murmured, tilting his head at her words. "Sol?"

"Ash is the one who saved you," Serena explained, realizing that Absol probably didn't remember that battle very well, and that he'd been sleeping or at least very dazed whenever Ash visited. "He beat that Pokemon Hunter's Seviper and caused him to run away so that we could help you."

Absol looked a little interested at that, looking at Serena with curious eyes. "Sol," he said, as if telling her to continue.

"Well, there wasn't too much to it after that," Serena admitted, smiling at the Disaster Pokemon. "The Hunter was caught, and he's not going to be able to hurt you anymore. When he ran away, we were able to take you here to the Pokemon Centre. For a couple of days, you were pretty much sleeping the whole time, but I made sure to check on you as much as possible, and Nurse Joy makes sure that you're okay. And you know the rest. You've been getting better each day. Pretty soon, we'll be able to test your legs outside."

"Ab absol?" Absol asked, eyes wide with...excitement? It was strange to see him look like that, and Serena had to do her best not to laugh.

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. "And if you don't mind, I'd love to be there for it. Maybe I can show you one of my performances? And Ash can show you some of his battling skills. It could be really fun."

"Oh that does sound fun," a voice said from behind her, causing Serena to jump and turn around, Absol shifting up from his position on his bed. Serena's eyes widened as she saw none other than Gabby entering the room, the Laverre student taking a chair and placing it next to Serena and sitting down. She didn't pet Absol, perhaps knowing it wasn't wise since he could still be dangerous, but she stared at him with interest. "Is he yours?" she asked quietly, smiling at the Disaster Pokemon.

Serena didn't exactly feel comfortable talking to this girl, especially since she and Dawn were the only ones who thought something seemed off about her, but she managed to force a smile to her face as she answered. "No, Ash saved him from a Pokemon Hunter and then I've been trying to help him get better ever since. I don't think Absol belongs to anyone."

"Hmm...well he certainly seems to like you," Gabby pointed out, nodding to the Disaster Pokemon as he closed his eyes contentedly as Serena pet him. "If he was the victim of a Pokemon Hunter, and an abusive one by the looks of things, I'd say it's quite remarkable that you've managed to earn his trust."

"Really?" Serena asked, looking curiously at the girl. She seemed to be talking genuinely. _Maybe I_ was _just imagining things._

"Yeah, I've seen Pokemon like this before. Some of them _never_ go back to trusting humans. Absol, here, he seems to actually like you quite a lot." Gabby turned, looking Serena in the eyes. "Do you think you have what it takes to take care of a Pokemon like this?"

Serena frowned at the question, not knowing if it was an accusing question, or just curiosity. "I...what do you mean? Absol is still a wild Pokemon. He might not want to be caught by anyone. I can't catch him if he doesn't want me to."

"Of course not," Gabby said, nodding and looking back at Absol. Serena returned her gaze to the Disaster Pokemon as well, noticing him eyeing her curiously. "I guess I was just curious about your intentions with him. It seems like you truly just want to see him get better."

Serena nodded, still confused about what to believe from Gabby. She did seem to be speaking honestly now, though. "Absol's health is the most important thing right now. I want him to be able to do whatever he wants once he's healthy," Serena explained, smiling at Absol as he again closed his eyes from her soothing petting.

"So much like Swablu..." Gabby suddenly whispered, causing Serena to glance over at her, surprised to see the other girl's lip quivering. "My Swablu nearly...it was really bad. She's better now, but it still scares me to think about it." She took a few deep breaths, apparently recovering from whatever dark memory she was thinking of, and then she looked up at Serena. "You and that girl Dawn. I can tell you don't like me very much."

"Why do you think that?" Serena asked weakly, jaw clenching in nervousness.

"It's okay, I get it," Gabby said quickly, smirking and looking back down at Absol. "I put on the peppy girl routine in front of Anton, because I know it bugs him so much, and I want him to stop being such a boring pain. I mean, it's not like I believe in all the stuff I tell him, but he _did_ used to be a fun brother to hang around with. Now it's just battles, training, battles and more training. He hasn't had a friend since he was nine years old."

Serena still wasn't quite so sure about this girl, but she felt like she was getting some kind of idea about her at least. "So...what are you saying?"

"I overdo it for my brother's sake," she said, "but also for the rest of the team. In case you didn't notice, they're all a bunch of miserable bums. Well, Casey, the redhead, is okay, but other than her...not the happiest group."

"So you act happy, just because they aren't?" Serena asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I don't know. When I'm with miserable people, I want them to lighten up, but when I'm on my own, I sometimes act just like them." Gabby sighed, fiddling with the bow in her hair, taking off her hat to do so. "I actually watched a lot of your performances, and when I watched them, I got frustrated with how happy you looked, and how it all seemed like a game to you. But now, seeing you with Absol here, I can see it's just that you seem to really enjoy it, and you just want them to enjoy it as well."

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun for us, and we like making everyone happy with out performances," Serena said, smiling as she looked at Gabby, starting to feel like she was actually seeing the real girl there.

"It's different for me," Gabby muttered, shrugging and looking up, deep in thought. "I perform to forget the past, not enjoy the present."

Serena didn't say anything, just staring at Gabby in shock for a few moments. Finally, she found her voice after about a minute. "You can't do that, though. You need to enjoy what you have, and look to the future. Performances can be a good distraction, sure, but they need to be a source of happiness and not to forget pain."

"Not for me, Serena. It's silly to think you can make people happy, when you can't truly be happy yourself. You might think I'm the only one acting, but you are as well. Maybe you're just better at it than I am, because you actually believe it yourself."

 **Author's Note:**

Gabby isn't so happy after all...but how will that affect how she performs? I know all that might've seemed complicated, but...more to come of course. I know Gabby quite well now, considering I've got her life story in my head...

Other than that...oh right! Ash's dream...again...more on that later, but there's some interesting stuff coming there.

Don't really know what else to say. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you (soon...ish) for the next chapter.


	20. The IPL Begins!

**Author's Note:**

Wow...sorry for how long it took to get this out. Some stuff came up and then I just had so much work to do. Things should pick up this week, though. And good timing for that...because now, we have the IPL to enjoy. So here you go!

 **Chapter 20: The IPL Begins!**

"Ivysaur, today's the day!" Shauna announced, hands almost shaking as she slipped into her formal school dress that had been provided for her. The Theme Performance would be a Pokemon Quiz today, so she and whichever Performer chosen from Laverre University would be competing in a race with their Pokemon, and then answering trivia questions depending on who won each individual race.

"Ivy," Ivysaur said happily, looking around to the door of the changing room excitedly, hearing the crowd outside. It was fairly loud, with many of the students having come to watch the opening of the IPL. Shauna was really starting to feel the pressure, knowing she had a big role to play, being the first one to compete.

There was a knock on the door a few moments later, just as Shauna was slipping on her academic hat, getting ready to go. "Hi, Shauna, it's Serena," came her best friend's voice.

"You can come in," Shauna called out, the door opening a moment later, Serena stepping in and closing it behind her. "I can't believe it's finally here," Shauna said, as Serena stood at the door, giving a quick greeting to Ivysaur. "I have to admit, I feel the pressure."

"You'll be great, Shauna. The Pokemon Quiz is easy for someone like you," Serena said confidently, holding a fist up and smiling. Shauna would've made a comment about her looking like Ash, but decided not to bother, since she wanted to focus on the competition. "Just focus on one thing at a time. Win the race, and then worry about the quiz after that. You know you're pretty smart, so the race needs to be your priority."

Shauna nodded, looking down at Ivysaur, who straightened up once hearing those words. "Do you think you can do this, Ivysaur?" Shauna asked, clenching her fists and smiling at her partner Pokemon.

"Saur! Ivysaur!" she answered back, nodding confidently.

Shauna looked back at Serena, taking a deep breath. "I guess we'd better be getting out there. It's probably going to be starting soon."

"Yeah," Serena answered, nodding. "Don't worry about it, though, okay? It's a tough position to be in, going first in a tough competition like this, but you can handle it. And we're your friends no matter what, Shauna. We're supporting you all the way."

"Thanks, Serena," Shauna said, again taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I won't let you guys down. Ivysaur and I will give it our all."

"Would Shauna and Lisa pleaze prepare to come out to ze stage?" Fantina's voice rang out, Shauna raising her head and looking at the door, at the sound of her name.

"A little different than Monsieur Pierre, but she's not too bad," Serena said, giggling a little as she went to the door, opening it up, the noise increasing without the door having been blocking out the sounds outside.

"Yeah," Shauna said, looking at Ivysaur, "but let's just hope her questions aren't too difficult for us."

As Shauna made her way out of her dressing room and to the side of the stage, she could just see her opponent, the green-haired girl, who she'd been informed was named Lisa, approaching the stage from the other side. Shauna attempted good sportswomanship by giving a small wave and a smile, but Lisa just gave one bored glance back, before turning her head and waiting for Fantina to finish up explaining the rules of the upcoming competition to the crowd.

"Performances are not only about ze beautiful moves zat ze Pokemon and their trainers can show off together," she was saying, the crowd murmuring in excitement at her words, clearly anxious for the first match of the IPL to finally begin. "Performers must also show zat zey are talented in many other ways. Zey must be able to work with zer Pokemon in not only showing zer outside beauty, but zer inner beauty. Such as...zer intelligence!" She paused as the crowd murmured in excitement, and Shauna glanced past the curtains that were hiding her from view, seeing Serena making her way over to their other friends, taking a seat next to Dawn. For a moment, Shauna wondered where Marie was, before remembering that she was at the Pokemon Centre, as Nurse Joy was here in case of any emergencies. "Today, ze Interschool Pokemon League will begin with a Theme Performance, with Lisa from Laverre University, and Shauna, from our own Lumiose University!"

"Woohoo!"

"Go Shauna!"

"Shau-na! Shau-na!" the crowd began to chant, confusing Shauna a bit, since she didn't even think many people knew about her. She supposed she and her friends had been so focused on getting ready for the IPL that they hadn't realized that so many other students cared about it. As the crowd continued to chant her name, though, she couldn't help but feel a little more confident, knowing she had the "homestage advantage" and support from all of her friends.

When the crowd finally settled down a bit, Fantina continued with her introduction. "Now, for ze Theme Performance today, our two competitors, Shauna and Lisa, will be participating in a Pokemon Quiz, which will involve two stages. First, zer Pokemon will be required to win a race, where zey will need to collect one of ze fake Pokemon eggs from ze end of the stage, balance it on ze end of a large spoon, and zen carry it back to zer trainer at ze back of ze stage. Ze winner will get to answer ze question, but if ze trainer is incorrect, ze other will be permitted to answer and steal ze point. If ze egg falls and breaks, ze other trainer automatically gets to answer ze question. No interference will be allowed unless one or both of ze trainers has two points. Does everyone understand ze rules?" As the crowd cheered, showing they understood, Fantina's Drifblim deposited ten eggs at the end of the stage, five on Shauna's side, and five on Lisa's side.

"Are you ready, Ivysaur?" Shauna asked, looking down nervously at her grass type.

"Ivy," Ivysaur answered confidently, nodding.

"Now, pleaze welcome our lovely performers!" Fantina shouted, snapping Shauna's attention back to the stage. As the crowd cheered for her, Shauna took a deep breath, and then slowly stepped onto the stage, waving to the audience as she took her place behind Fantina, and a few feet away from Lisa, who had a Grimer next to her. _That's a weird Pokemon to use for a Performance,_ Shauna thought, narrowing her eyes a little in confusion.

Shauna glanced at Fantina as the Contest expert approached her with the oversized spoon which Ivysaur took in her vines. She could tell it was going to be hard for Ivysaur to carry it with an egg on it, so she wondered how Grimer would have any chance at all. She watched closely as Fantina made her way over to Lisa. Fantina also seemed quite confused about the choice, but slowly handed the spoon down to the Sludge Pokemon, who extended a gooey arm upwards, taking it. As Fantina turned away, making her way back to the centre of the stage, Shauna noticed Grimer running its slimy arm over the spoon, and instantly started to figure it out.

There was no time to argue about it being fair or not, though, as Fantina quickly began speaking once more. "Now, ladies and gentlemen," she began, the crowd going quiet with excitement, "it is time to officially begin ze competition! Ze IPL starts now!" The crowd cheered loudly as Fantina glanced at Shauna, and then Lisa, ensuring they were ready. "Now, do both competitors know ze rules?" Both nodded, Shauna clenching her fists as she did so, looking ahead to the eggs that would be her and Ivysaur's target. "Well zen, without further ado, let ze race begin!"

"Go Ivysaur!" Shauna shouted quickly, pointing ahead confidently, Ivysaur immediately breaking out into a run. She wasn't the fastest runner in the world, but she did her best, getting a good head start on Grimer, who already looked to be the slower Pokemon as it slowly slid forward.

"And it looks as though Shauna has ze early advantage!" Fantina called out excitedly, the crowd cheering happily at the early sign of success. "Ivysaur has ze lead, and it looks like she will reach ze eggs first.

A couple of seconds later, and Ivysaur did just that, skidding to a stop beside the eggs, reaching out with one vine and picking one up, and then placing it on the spoon. Immediately, she turned back and began running again. She continued at the same speed as before, and Shauna's eyes widened, noticing the egg wobbling from the awkward movements. "Ivysaur, no!" she yelled, seeing the egg dangling on the edge of the spoon. She glanced over to see Grimer reaching the group of eggs now, placing one onto the spoon. It barely moved as Grimer turned around, and Shauna knew her suspicions were correct. She glanced back at Ivysaur, hoping to see her slowing down, knowing she already had a good lead.

"Oh no!" Fantina suddenly yelled, as Shauna looked, eyes widening. She could see Ivysaur reaching out with a vine, grasping for the egg as it slipped off of the spoon. It seemed to fall in slow motion, just slipping past the outstretched vine, before crashing onto the ground. A bell rang out loudly, and the crowd went silent, as Fantina stepped forward, looking between the two Pokemon, a smug looking Grimer, and a mortified Ivysaur. "Well, with zat, ze winner of ze first race is Lisa and her Grimer!" Fantina called, sounding like she was somewhat struggling to sound enthusiastic about it. There was some polite clapping from the disappointed crowd, and Shauna made sure not look, feeling pretty disappointed with herself. _I should've warned Ivysaur to slow down when she got the egg._

As Fantina once again explained the rules of the quiz portion of the competition, Shauna bent down as Ivysaur approached, patting the disappointed grass type on the head. "Don't worry, Ivysaur," she said quietly. "That was my fault. Just take it slower once you get the egg, and then we'll be fine."

A few moments later, Fantina made her way over to stand next to a smug looking Lisa, calling out for silence in the crowd as a screen lowered down behind them, showing the images of four people. There was a woman with long blonde hair, standing next to a Garchomp; a man with red-orange hair, standing next to a Bouffalant; a woman with shorter dark hair, standing next to a Gardevoir; and finally, a man with light blue hair, standing next to a Metagross. "Now, Lisa," Fantina began, looking up at the screen, "zis question involves two parts. First, you must identify ze person among ze pictures zat I am describing, and zen you must tell me which region zey are from."

"I already know who they are," Lisa said calmly, looking bored, "but go on."

Shauna could see that Fantina was a little irritated by this, but she continued on. "Very well," she said, glancing at a note in her hands. "Zis person was challenged by Flint, of ze Sinnoh Elite Four in zer most recent title challenge. Zey defeated him and his Infernape, after only losing two Pokemon. Who iz it?"

Shauna was somewhat glad she didn't get this question, as she didn't know the answer, but she could tell that Lisa certainly did, and a moment later, the other girl answered. "Cynthia," she said, pointing to the picture of the blonde woman with the Garchomp, "the Champion of the Sinnoh region. She defeated Flint's Infernape with her Garchomp."

"Zat is correct!" Fantina called out, turning to the crowd. "And Lisa has answered both parts of ze question, identifying Cynthia as ze described person and ze region she is from. Lisa now has ze lead!" The crowd once again politely clapped, but it was clear not many people were happy. Shauna could only see the Laverre University teams looking somewhat happy, but even they, apart from Gabby and the red-haired girl, Casey, didn't look excited. It was more like they were watching what they expected to happen.

A few moments later, Fantina was back at the centre stage, and Ivysaur and Grimer were ready to race once more. Shauna narrowed her eyes as she looked ahead, and she could tell Ivysaur was doing the same. They wouldn't lose this time. As soon as the signal was made, Shauna pointed ahead, just as she'd done in the first race. "Let's do this, Ivysaur! Go!"

"Saur!" Ivysaur shouted, running forward, again getting a sizable lead and somehow looking faster as she ran ahead. Shauna glanced over to see Grimer, slowly making its way forward, giving one glance back to its trainer, who Shauna noticed didn't seem concerned at all.

"And Ivysaur makes it to ze eggs first once again!" Fantina called out excitedly, as the crowd cheered. Shauna quickly looked ahead, not having realized what was happening as she'd looked at Grimer. Ivysaur was just picking up the egg and placing it on the spoon. "Now, let's see if she will hold on to ze egg zis time!"

Shauna smiled as she saw Ivysaur carefully making her way back. She still kept a fairly good pace, but with her lead, she was able to focus on keeping the egg straight. She was already halfway back by the time Grimer had collected its own egg. "You can do it Ivysaur!" Shauna called out encouragingly, shaking her fists excitedly as the grass type approached.

"Oh wow!" Fantina called out a moment later, making Shauna jump from the sudden noise. "Grimer is quickly gaining on Ivysaur. It is managing to keep up its speed and still hold ze egg perfectly." Shauna gritted her teeth, seeing this. _Its using its slime to make the egg stick._ She quickly glanced over to Ivysaur, who was only a few feet away, while Grimer was quickly gaining. _Come on, Ivysaur._ "Zis one is coming down to ze last few seconds!" Fantina shouted, watching as Ivysaur approached the finish line, Grimer now just a few feet away as well. "It looks like Ivysaur will manage ze close victory...and...oui! She has!"

"Yay!" Shauna yelled excitedly, running forward and hugging her Pokemon, while the crowd cheered. "Great job, Ivysaur!"

"Saur ivysaur!" Ivysaur answered, looking quite pleased with herself.

It was a couple of minutes before the crowd finally settled down, and Fantina had approached Shauna, prepared to ask the question. When things were finally quiet, the screen once again lit up, this time showing just a picture of a man with green hair and a Milotic next to him. The two seemed to be doing some kind of Performance. "Again, zis question will involve two parts," Fantina explained, as the crowd went completely silent to listen. "Zis man is a Top Coordinator from ze Hoenn region and has even been ze Gym Leader of ze Sootopolis City Gym and was once even ze Champion. What is his name, and what is ze famous event zat he holds once a year?"

Shauna's eyes immediately widened at the question and she stared up at the screen, biting her lip as nerves came over her. She didn't know the answer. _What do I do? I can't fall behind by two points. We're going to lose if I do that._ She glanced over to where her friends were sitting, noticing that Dawn, and even Ash, looked to be struggling not to yell out the answer. _I really need to know this stuff. What's wrong with me? I think Dawn even showed me a video of this guy before. Why can't I remember?_

"Time is running out, Miss Shauna," Fantina said, looking somewhat nervous, but managing to smile. "Lisa will have ze opportunity to steal ze point if you are unable to answer."

Shauna nodded, glancing back up towards the picture. She had to think. What had Dawn been showing her? It had been a Contest Performance, obviously, but what was the name of the Coordinator. He was famous among coordinators, and likely battlers like Ash as well since he'd been Champion at one time. _Wa...Wallace!_ Shauna quickly looked at Fantina, smiling confidently. "His name is Wallace!"

"Very good!" Fantina said excitedly, as the crowd applauded, clearly relieved that Shauna had managed to remember the answer. "Now, for ze second part of ze question. Ze name of his famous annual event."

"Um..." Shauna's face went pale at that, and she glanced down nervously at Ivysaur, who looked back with concern. _I have no idea._

"Final chance, Shauna," Fantina said, already taking a step towards Lisa. "You must answer, or Lisa will be able to steal ze point."

"I...oh I don't know..." Shauna admitted, looking down at the ground as a few people in the crowd gasped, and a laugh was heard over from Lisa. _Why did I answer the first part? Now she gets a free answer._

"Very well," Fantina said, turning to face Lisa. "Now, Miss Lisa, can you tell me the name of ze famous event, in order to steal ze point from Shauna?"

"It's easy," Lisa said, smirking at Shauna as she lifted her head up to watch. "Wallace hosts the Wallace Cup each year for coordinators of any region to compete, and then they can take the ribbon back to any Grand Festival of their choice."

As they prepared for the third race, Shauna felt a pit in her stomach, knowing that she'd blown a big opportunity by failing to answer the question. _One more point, and she wins. I've let my team down already, and it's only the first match._ She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She needed to think of a way to even the score. She knew that with Grimer's advantage with holding onto the egg, relying on Ivysaur to win the race with speedy start wasn't necessarily going to work again. _Wait...Lisa has two points, and that means I'm allowed to interfere. If I can make Grimer drop the egg..._

"Ivysaur," Shauna whispered, kneeling down and looking her Pokemon in the eyes. "We can't focus on winning the race. We can't rely on that, since Grimer has an easier time holding onto its egg. We need to make sure it drops the egg. That's the plan, okay?"

"Ivy," Ivysaur answered, nodding confidently.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?" Fantina called out, looking at both performers. "Lisa has ze opportunity to win ze match by winning this race and answering ze question correctly. Let us see if she is able to do it and defeat Shauna in round one of ze Performance Team matchup between Lumiose University and Laverre University!" She then raised up a hand, and then waved it down as a bell rang out. "Begin!"

As soon as she made the signal, Shauna noticed Grimer immediately begin sliding forward, glad to see that she was right about her assumption that it would move quicker this time. Ivysaur likely would've had the lead still, but definitely not the head start needed to win. Meanwhile, Ivysaur remained in her spot in front of Shauna, bracing herself for the attack order once Grimer reached its egg.

"What is zis?" Fantina called out excitedly. "It appears as if Shauna is going to attempt to interfere with Grimer and win ze race by destroying its egg! A risky move, but perhaps it will work and she will make a comeback.

Shauna narrowed her eyes as Grimer approached its eggs. It was well aware that an attack was going to come once it picked up an egg, and it had one eye on Ivysaur as it reached out to the eggs, ready for its trainer's defensive order. As soon as the egg was onto the spoon, Shauna made her move. "Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf!" she shouted, pointing straight for the egg.

"Saur!" Ivysaur answered immediately, aiming with the plant on her back and firing the sharp leaves forward. They rushed towards Grimer, looking like they were going straight for the egg, Shauna smirking as the victory seemed to be a simple one.

"Minimize!" Lisa suddenly yelled, Grimer immediately responding and lowering just enough for the leaves to shoot past. Shauna quickly ordered another Razor Leaf, seeing Grimer slowly shrinking, becoming a slightly smaller target, and moving faster without its extra weight. _No..._

"Zis doesn't look good for Shauna!" Fantina called out, as once again the leaves sailed past Grimer, who was now two thirds of the way back. "Grimer is proving a difficult to for Ivysaur to hit!"

"Use Vine Whip!" Shauna shouted, now slightly panicked, seeing that her chance to stop Grimer was almost over.

"Disable!" Lisa countered, Grimer immediately glancing over at Ivysaur with the order. As the grass type began to bring out her vines, Grimer's eyes seemed to flash, and the vines seemed to freeze, Ivysaur seemingly unable to move them. "Now, over the finish line and win this," Lisa finished simply, as Shauna and the crowd of stunned Lumiose University students watched. A moment later, and Grimer was across the finish line, and Fantina was calling out the victory.

Shauna didn't even need to pay attention to know that Lisa was going to answer the question correctly, and she just stared at the ground as Fantina asked it. If Lisa had answered incorrectly, Shauna wouldn't have even known, being lost in her own thoughts. _I let my team down,_ Shauna thought to herself. _I didn't even come close._

As Lisa answered the final question correctly, her victory now official, Shauna could only stare blankly at the disappointed crowd in front of her. It wasn't like her team had no chance to win, it was the opposite actually, with Serena up next and likely to perform quite well, but the message this loss sent, was definitely not a positive one. Shauna knew how it looked. She, a semi-finalist from the Masterclass, hadn't even been able to score a single point in a Theme Performance, and her team was already playing catch up.

* * *

"Don't worry about it, Shauna, you were great out there. It was just a bit of bad luck, that's all," Ash said, looking over at the sulking Performer. Shauna had just returned from getting changed back into her regular clothes, with Serena now backstage preparing for her own matchup, which appeared to be against Gabby, unsurprisingly, after what Serena had mentioned last night. Everyone could tell that Shauna was pretty upset with how the match had gone, with her inability to make eye contact with anyone in the group.

"I let you guys down," she whispered, staring down at the stage, sinking lower in her seat. "I was supposed to start us off strong, and instead, I made a complete fool of myself. I rushed the first race, couldn't even answer a question after winning the second one, and then I completely flopped with the last one. I should just quit now."

"Hey, don't say that," Dawn said, from her spot next to Shauna. "You still did pretty well. I know I would've probably rushed the first race, too, and it's hard for someone who isn't a Coordinator and who lives outside of Hoenn to know about Wallace. And the last one was just bad luck. That Lisa is pretty sneaky."

"I don't see how using her Grimer was fair. There was no way that egg was going to fall," Clemont muttered, glancing angrily over at where the Laverre teams were sitting. Ash could see them laughing amongst themselves, only Anton not joining in. They were definitely pretty pleased with their start.

Dawn nodded, glancing over at Clemont. "It definitely didn't seem fair, but I guess there's no rule against it. It was weird...Lisa seemed to have the whole thing planned out. She seemed to know how each round was going to play out, and just waited for her chance each time."

"Well remember," Ash said, thinking of what Korrina had said, "they've got the experience with the IPL. Even if it's generally the same thing as what we've had with showcases, contests and gym battles or Pokemon leagues, they're pretty comfortable with how this all works. Anything we're not used to works to their advantage. Theme performances aren't usually one on one, right Shauna? I'm sure in a regular Showcase, you would've easily gotten passed that."

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Shauna muttered, still sounding upset, but looking up slightly at Ash's words. "It still sucks, though. I should be able to win that kind of thing, regardless of who I'm up against. Unless it's someone like Serena."

"Have a little more confidence, Shauna," Tierno said, thumping his chest proudly. "Look at how much I've improved as a Coordinator already. I might've been a bit lucky with beating Dawn, but even without that, I still managed to make the team against a lot of really strong coordinators. If you keep working hard, you'll be able to beat anyone, or at least be proud with how you performed."

"And you should be proud of how you did today," Trevor added, looking up thoughtfully. "It was a good strategy to go right after Grimer, knowing that it could carry the egg easier than Ivysaur. Lisa just seemed to have the edge with knowing how to plan her match against you, which is something you haven't done before."

"You'll win next time," Ash said confidently, looking to the stage and seeing Fantina stepping out. "But for now, Serena needs you and all of us. Let's cheer her on together!"

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu added, cheeks sparking from Ash's shoulder, clearly excited to see Serena perform again after the last time they'd seen her. Ash glanced down just in time to see Rowlet shooting up out of his backpack, before the Grass Quill Pokemon landed on the opposite shoulder from Pikachu.

"You're right," Shauna said, sighing and straightening up in her seat. She gave a small smile to everyone in the group. "Thanks, guys."

"No need to worry!" Dawn told her happily, patting her on the back. "We're only behind by one point, and there are still three more available in just this one match. Not to mention the five other matches we have throughout the year."

"Yeah," Tierno said, holding up his fists excitedly, "we've got a long way to go. One little loss isn't going to mess us up."

Ash was glad to see Shauna looking a little bit happier after that, and as he turned to look at the stage below, he felt confident that Serena would get things back on track. He had to admit to himself, he was a little worried, now knowing that Laverre's competitors were definitely capable of competing at such a high level, but he knew that Serena was one of the best performers out there. And from what he'd seen, and from what Shauna had told him about the Masterclass, Serena was arguably _the_ best.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," Fantina called out, the crowd going quiet as soon as she started speaking, ready to focus on the next round of the performances, "it is now time for ze Freestyle Performance matchup! Today, we have ze two beautiful ladies Gabrielle, from Laverre University, and our own Serena, from Lumiose University!"

"Yeah! Go Serena!" Ash yelled loudly, his own cheers almost as loud as his friends' combined. He could see Serena walking out from the left side of the stage, wearing a pink and red dress, with a large red bow on the front, black stockings, white gloves with two pink bracelets, and pink bow in her hair, with blue beads on either side. Ash couldn't take his eyes off her, smiling at the sight of her. It was only when people started murmuring about Gabby that he was able to glance over at the other Performer.

Gabby was wearing light blue and white dress with a much longer skirt than Serena had, which Ash was confused about, since it would be harder for her to move. The blue skirt matched her blue shoes and blue ribbons on the white top, and in her hair. She also wore what looked like a fluffy white scarf around her neck. She kind of looked like she was dressing up like...

"She looks like an Altaria," Dawn muttered, looking somewhat unimpressed, along with Shauna. Ash glanced over at the two girls, wondering what their bitterness seemed to be about, and then noticed Tierno and Trevor almost off of their seats, eyes shining as they looked at Gabby. "You guys realize she's on the other team, right?" Dawn asked shortly.

"Huh? Oh...yeah," Tierno said quickly, sitting back in his seat, looking embarrassed, and exchanging an awkward look with Trevor. "Uh...just being a good sport. You have to admit it, Gabby looks pretty great."

 _Serena looks better,_ Ash thought, looking back towards her, watching as she adjusted the ribbon in her hair. He could see a little bit of nervousness in her movements and little glances towards Gabby, and clenched his fists, starting to worry a bit himself. _Come on, Serena...stay confident._

"Now," Fantina started, getting the crowd to quiet down as she began to speak, "as most of you know, ze Freestyle Performance involves ze Performer and her Pokemon showing off ze beauty of zer Pokemon and ze bond zat zey share with one another. In most showcases, ze Performer will perform with two Pokemon, and after she and ze other competitors have performed, ze audience will judge who performed ze best. However, with zis competition, it is a little more difficult to do zat, as our audience may be a little bit biased towards one of ze competitors. So, we have invited two guest judges, who will judge ze performances along with our own Professor Sycamore, and Laverre University's Valerie! Please welcome Monsieur Contesta, ze cousin of ze famous Mr. Contesta who judges contests in Sinnoh, Kanto and Hoenn. Also, we welcome Nurse Joy, who, with her knowledge of Pokemon, is sure to know what to look for in these performances." With that, there was a spotlight that lit up near the back of the theatre, and Ash looked back to see the four judges standing together, waving to the crowd. Monsieur Contesta looked quite a lot like his brother, who Ash had seen a few times on his travels, with a red suit and short grey and black hair.

"Seems like the bias is more towards Gabby right now," Shauna muttered, giving Tierno and Trevor one more accusing look. "It's probably a good thing they've got official judges for it."

"Serena will win no matter what," Ash said confidently, turning back to the stage once the crowd finished politely applauding the judges. "All she has to do is perform like she did at the tryouts and this will be an easy win."

The crowd went quiet once more, looking back down towards the stage, everyone clearly sensing that things were about to begin. "For those of you who do not know, ze format of ze Masterclass showcase is a little different from ze regular showcases. With ze IPL, we will be implementing a similar rule. Both performers will have ze opportunity to perform, along with two of zer Pokemon, and then, once both have finished zer separate performances, zey will compete for ze attention of ze judges, performing at ze same time."

"That sounds kind of tough," Clemont said, fiddling with his glasses, almost like it was a nervous twitch. "It would be kind of distracting to have someone performing flashy moves while you're trying to focus."

"Gabby's the one who will be distracted," Ash said, holding up a fist and smiling confidently. "Serena will be fine."

"Now, with ze rules explained, it is time for us to begin with ze Freestyle Performance!" Fantina shouted excitedly, the crowd cheering loudly at the announcement. With Lumiose University being ze home team, zey have ze option of selecting who shall perform first, and Serena has decided that she will perform before Gabby."

"That's smart," Shauna said, leaning forward as Fantina stepped to the side of the stage, while Serena approached the centre. "If Serena performs really well, it'll make things a little tougher on Gabby."

"True, but if Gabby does well, she'll be fresh in the judges' minds," Clemont pointed out. "It's a bit of a risky move, but at least it shows Serena's confident."

 _You can do this, Serena,_ Ash thought, gritting his teeth as he watched Serena hold up two pokeballs. He saw her take a few deep breaths, glancing once at Gabby, looking slightly nervous, and then her gaze moved up towards where he was sitting. Ash locked eyes with her, seeing the little hint of doubt in her gaze, and nodded, smiling back. _Don't give up,_ he mouthed.

With that, Serena smiled widely, and then straightened up, looking ready to get things started. "Braixen! Sylveon! Come on out!" she shouted, twirling around and tossing the two pokeballs into the air. With two bright flashes of light, Serena's two Pokemon emerged onto the stage next to her, both dressed up in outfits that matched Serena's dress, with little pink ribbons and bows.

"Braixen brai!"

"Syyylveon!"

"Ah! And Serena has selected her beautiful Braixen and Sylveon to perform alongside her! Let us see what zey can accomplish," Fantina called out, the crowd applauding loudly for Serena and her Pokemon.

"All right, Braixen, let's start this off with Flamethrower! Aim straight up!" Serena called out, spinning to the side to give Braixen some room, her skirt twirling around as she moved, and Sylveon darting out to the front of the stage, clearly knowing her order was next. "Sylveon, to the front of the stage, and then use Fairy Wind on the flames!" Serena added, once she'd spun out of the way, and Braixen's jet of flames were firing up into the air from her branch-wand.

"Syl sylveon!" Sylveon shouted, back facing the crowd as she turned and sent the sparkling pink wind up towards the flames, which were puffing out near the top of the theatre. As soon as the Fairy Wind made contact, the flames seemed to expand and dissolve, becoming little red and orange sparks in the air, mixing perfectly with the sparkling pink dust from fairy wind. The remains of both attacks mixed together, slowly drifting to the ground, looking almost like millions of little pink, orange and red stars falling to the ground.

Serena was only just getting started, though, immediately dancing her way over to Braixen's side, the Fox Pokemon tucking her wand into her tail before reaching out her paws as Serena took them into her hands. "Sylveon, Double Team!" Serena shouted, as she and Braixen began to spin around, laughing as they went in circles.

"Veon!" Sylveon cried out, immediately multiplying and surrounding Serena and Braixen in a circle, each copy dancing along as Serena and Braixen continued to spin around.

"Now, aim into the air and use Swift!" Serena, eyes going to the centre back of the stage. Ash realized that she somehow knew exactly where the real Sylveon was, showing that she'd clearly practised this routine very carefully. As soon as Serena gave that look, each Sylveon copy immediately looked up into the air, a spot a few feet above Serena and Braixen. Then, a moment later, each started firing dozens of little golden stars up towards that spot, all meeting near the centre. "And Braixen, aim up with Flamethrower once more!" Serena shouted releasing Braixen and spinning off to the right side of the stage as Braixen plucked her branch-wand from her tail and aimed up with a jet of flames, still spinning.

The spinning flames met with the colliding stars from Swift, and a few seconds later, the stars were swirling around the jet of flames, spinning upwards and then bursting apart at the top of the line of fire reaching up near the ceiling of the theatre. Once they exploded amongst the flames, the stage was once again showered with sparkling dust, this time golden from the stars of Swift.

Once the final star exploded into a shower of golden dust, Serena quickly began to make her way back to centre stage, calling for Braixen to take her spot and holding out her arm towards the back of the stage, where the real Sylveon was running forward from, her copies already disappearing. Serena quickly extended an arm, lowering the right side of her body as Sylveon leaped forward. The fairy type quickly ran across Serena's outstretched arm as she straightened up, extending out her other arm while turning and facing it towards the left side of the stage. Sylveon leaped off, flipping through the air, and then landing straight, facing Serena, while Braixen did the same from her side of the stage.

"Now, Braixen, Hidden Power! And Sylveon, use Fairy Wind!" Serena sang out, laughing as she clearly seemed to be enjoying the moment. Ash smiled at the sight, glad to see she had clearly lost her nerves.

"BraiiiXEN!" Braixen shouted, aiming carefully and then firing the blue orb out in front of her. Ash's eyes widened, seeing it rushing towards Serena, wondering for a moment if Braixen had misfired. Then, suddenly, just as it was only a few feet from Serena, a gust of sparkling pink wind blew past, seemingly plucking the orb from the air, and even carrying Serena off of her feet as well, causing both to spin around, the Hidden Power circling upward, while Serena quickly righted herself, landing next to Braixen.

"Now, Braixen, finish up with Flamethrower! And Sylveon, use Swift!" Serena shouted, voice carrying throughout the theatre.

Ash tensed up as he watched, knowing this had to go well, with it being Serena's finishing act of this part of the performance. With the orb of Hidden Power still circling upwards from the Fairy Wind, Braixen quickly aimed her branch-wand and launched a powerful jet of flames straight towards it, Sylveon aiming a barrage of stars at the same time. The attacks swirled around each other, the golden stars glowing in the light of the flames, and blue sparks shooting off as they collided with the blue orb of hidden power. Finally, the attacks enclosed on each other, seemingly combining into a single bright, white light, before exploding outward, hundreds of tiny stars shooting out from Sylveon's Swift attack, all lit up with flames and and blue sparks shooting out from behind them. With the performance finished, Serena and her Pokemon lined up at the centre of the stage and bowed, getting an enormous round of applause from the audience.

"That was amazing!" Ash exclaimed, looking over to his friends, who all stared on in awe. "There's no way Gabby can top that."

"C'est magnifique!" Fantina shouted, joining Serena at the centre of the stage, everyone in the audience quieting down to hear what she was saying. "Zat was a truly beautiful performance, Serena. It will be a very tough act to follow for Gabrielle!"

As Fantina said that, Ash quickly looked towards the other Performer, narrowing his eyes as he saw her staring at Serena. Gabby looked like she was torn between being impressed, and being irritated or frustrated. Ash assumed that was a good sign for Serena, who was, understandably, looking quite proud of her performance as she and her Pokemon made their way to the back of the stage.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for Gabrielle to show us zat zis match is far from over!" Fantina called out excitedly, while Gabby approached the centre of the stage, bringing out two pokeballs. "Bonne chance!" Fantina finished, heading off to the back of the stage, standing next to Serena as Gabby prepared to start.

"This is big," Dawn said, leaning forward, tensing up a little. "If Gabby can match what Serena did, simultaneous performances could go to either one."

Ash nodded, taking a deep breath, just to calm his own nerves. He could see that Serena was a little nervous looking as well, now that she had to wait and watch. Ash wondered if she was thinking about whatever she and Gabby had been talking about yesterday in the Pokemon Centre. _She seemed a little upset after that. I hope Gabby didn't get into her head._ He quickly shook his head and focused on the stage as he saw Gabby raising her arms, ready to start her performance.

"Ninetales! Altaria! To the stage!" she shouted, tossing both pokeballs to the sides, releasing the cream-coloured fox Pokemon to the left and the blue dragon Pokemon with fluffy white wings to the right. Well that explains her outfit, Ash realized, looking at Altaria as it hovered on the right side of the stage. Like Serena's Pokemon, Gabby's were dressed up similar to her outfit. Ninetales wore a blue bow on her head and one on each tail, while Altaria wore a couple among the fluff of her wings and a pink one on top of her head, matching Gabby's hair.

"Oh my, a beautiful pair of Pokemon!" Fantina announced breathlessly. "Ze coat of fur on Ninetales, and Altaria's beautiful wings...I've never seen anything like it!"

"Hey! Serena's Pokemon looked good too," Shauna muttered angrily, glaring down at Fantina, even though the latter couldn't see.

Ash nodded in agreement, but kept his focus on Gabby, who was taking one last moment to prepare herself. He could tell she was deep in thought, her deep breaths and narrowed eyes signalling that her mind wasn't completely focused on her performance just yet. Then, she blinked, turned around, and glanced back at Serena, who Ash could see looked a little uneasy with Gabby's look. After a brief moment where Gabby seemed to study Serena, she turned back around, glanced at Ninetales, and then rested her gaze on Altaria. Ash could see sadness in their eyes as they looked at each other, but a moment later, it vanished, replaced by pure determination.

"Altaria, let's start this off with Draco Meteor!" Gabby finally shouted, sliding back and pointing up triumphantly. "And Ninetales, use Flame Charge and climb the meteors!"

Ash was amazed at how quickly Gabby's Pokemon moved, both of them already preparing their attacks before the orders had even been out of Gabby's mouth. Altaria flew quickly above her trainer, spread her cottony wings wide, and then looked up, before firing the bright orange orb up towards the ceiling. The comet flew up, speeding towards the ceiling, and Ash was sure it would explode against it. Then, once it was a few feet away, it burst apart, the meteors immediately dropping towards the ground, lighting up the stage in an orange glow.

Ash then noticed a flash of light in the corner of his eye and saw Ninetales suddenly become engulfed in flames. "Nine!" she cried out, before leaping up and kicking off from one of the first landing comets, which exploded in a shower of red and orange sparks. Ash had a feeling Gabby had worked with Altaria to form a Draco Meteor that was more focused on looking flashy, as he knew a regular one would've likely been setting the stage on fire.

"Now use Double Team, and pick up the pace with Quick Attack!" Gabby shouted, as Altaria released another Draco Meteor without the need for a command, and the stage became filled with the falling comets, lighting up the whole theatre with an orange glow, and giving a pleasant warmth to the crowd.

Ash bit his lip nervously as he watched, seeing the many copies of Ninetales effortlessly and gracefully leaping from comet to comet, looking like shooting stars. And that wasn't all. He heard people in the crowd gasping, and noticed Tierno and Trevor pointing down to where Gabby was, and could see that she too was performing her own dance through Draco Meteor, twirling around and gracefully stepping aside as each meteor fell and then shot up sparks all around her, lighting her up each time.

Finally, as Ninetales' copies disappeared, and the real one emerged from one last meteor, high above the stage, Gabby called her next order. "Now, Ninetales, use Flame Charge, straight down! And Altaria, use Dragon Rush straight up!"

Ash's eyes widened hearing that. Even he knew that having your Pokemon attack each other in a performance was an unusual move. Then again, Serena had done a somewhat similar move in her tryouts with Pancham's Stone Edge on Sylveon's Protect. He watched in stunned silence as Ninetales was engulfed in flames, before she launched herself downwards, just as Altaria shot up as well, a shining purple light, appearing in the form of a dragon's jaws, forming around her. The two Pokemon sped towards each other, the crowd going completely silent as they watched, before they crashed together.

Or at least, it had looked like they were going to crash together, and many people in the crowd gasped and winced, looking away, before a moment later, those who continued watching, began to cheer. Ash's jaw dropped as he watched Altaria swoop away from the position where she'd appeared to impact with Ninetales. Now, the shining purple light of Dragon Rush still around her, she flew over the crowd, a flaming Ninetales on her back, leaving a trail of flames behind them, which contrasted brilliantly with the Dragon Rush.

"Now, finish up with Moonblast, circle back, and light this place up!" Gabby sang out, spreading her arms out as she called out to her Pokemon, who were swooping over the front rows of the theatre.

"Tariaaa!" Altaria called out, as she opened her mouth wide and fired a large pink orb up into the air above the crowd. As she and Ninetales flew to the back of the theatre, Ash could see the pink orb expanding, a bright pink light emanating powerfully from it. His eyes widened as he saw the two Pokemon swoop around, and then dive straight towards the pink orb, suddenly looking like a flaming head of a dragon with the combined Dragon Rush and Flame Charge. Then, Altaria seemed to double her speed, crashing right through the Moonblast and exploding it, as she and Ninetales rushed past, twisting around as they reached the stage.

For a brief second, Ash wondered if anything was going to happen, and then again he was stunned as he watched the Moonblast shooting out pink sparks which popped out, showering the crowd with pink dust. It was like a mini fireworks display, and Ash could tell the crowd, and the judges behind him, were loving it. He had to admit to himself, too, that it was pretty impressive. He knew that the finish between Gabby and Serena would be very close.

"Absolutely beautiful!" Fantina sang out, coming out to the front of the stage, Serena and her Pokemon following and standing a little ways away from Gabby.

Ash immediately felt bad for Serena, seeing the doubt in her eyes. She'd looked so confident as she'd been performing, but now she seemed a little spooked. He tried to make eye contact with her again, but she seemed too distracted to look up.

"Now," Fantina said, as the crowd quieted down, "it is time to find out what ze judges have to say after ze initial performances, before seeing which of zese lovely ladies will take ze Freestyle Performance point for zer team. Nurse Joy, why don't you begin?"

Luckily, nobody had to turn and look up at the judges at the back of the theatre, and the screen at the back of the stage lit up, showing the group of four judges, Nurse Joy preparing to speak. Ash tensed up, silently praying to Arceus for Serena to have done well.

"Personally," Nurse Joy began, looking somewhat nervous herself, but managing to keep a confident smile on her face, "I believe both Serena and Gabrielle showed extraordinary talent and determination with their performances. Both of then clearly share very strong bonds with their Pokemon. I'd have to say Serena displayed a little more flash, but Gabrielle showed a more focused approach to her performance overall."

"I think I must agree," Sycamore said after that, causing a few people in the crowd to mumble angrily, seemingly forgetting that they too had been entranced by Gabby's performance. Ash wasn't exactly happy as Sycamore described Gabby's performance as slightly more "marvellous" than Serena's but he was glad to know that Sycamore wouldn't show favouritism simply because he was running Lumiose University.

After Sycamore, Valerie was next, actually ranking Serena and Gabby as equal in their performances, getting a loud cheer as she finished, filling the crowd with hope. However, as Monsieur Contesta declared Gabby's as the slightly better performance, Ash could sense the mood darken once again. It wasn't over yet, though. There was still a chance. Serena just needed to outperform Gabby in the performance battle.

"Ah, well it appears as though Gabrielle has ze slight lead going into zis final performance," Fantina said, stepping back as Serena and Gabby took their places on each side of the stage with their Pokemon. "However, it is still close enough zat Serena can earn the victory with a strong final performance by keeping ze attention away from Gabrielle."

"What's the point in having the two separate stages to this?" Tierno asked, sounding pretty confused. Ash had wondered the same thing, thinking that judges would likely know enough from one performance rather than having two. Although, he did have a feeling this would be slightly different, and hoped Serena would be able to turn the odds in her favour again.

"I think it's so they can test their performances in different situations," Shauna explained. Ash glanced over at her, seeing her watching the stage, deep in thought. "The judges can see how each person performs in a pretty comfortable position where they have the stage to themselves, but here, it's a little more stressful, with the two competing for the attention of the judges. And by having the other performance first, there is an advantage for Gabby, since they will likely focus on her more at the start, since they seem to think she did a little better."

Ash gritted his teeth at that, looking back at the stage. He could see that Gabby was looking quite confident, while Serena was clearly a little rattled by falling behind. "Don't give up, Serena," Ash whispered, clenching his fists. "It's not over yet."

* * *

Serena could sense the nervousness in the crowd, her Pokemon and in herself. This definitely wasn't the situation she'd wanted to put herself in, and with Laverre already earning the first point in the Theme Performance, this one was pretty important. There wasn't any room for failure, and Serena felt like she was already lacking something.

She couldn't help but keep looking over at Gabby. Her opponent was so calm, so serious. Nothing else mattered in this moment, but winning the match. The memory of their conversation the night before played in Serena's mind. _Is this what Palermo wants me to become?_ Serena thought, pursing her lips and glancing down. _Is performing really something that should be nothing more than a job? I don't want to think of it like that. Is that what this school is supposed to teach me?_

"Good luck, Serena," Gabby called out to her, as they braced themselves to begin. It sounded sincere, but Serena couldn't be sure, and just nodded back, before glancing up towards her friends. She could see Ash staring intently at her, looking pretty nervous. She took a deep breath, doing her best to give him an encouraging smile. _Just have fun, she told herself. Make the audience smile._

And with that, the next stage of the performance began. Serena heard Gabby calling out two quick commands, and quickly set to work herself. "Braixen, Hidden Power! Sylveon, Double Team!"

"Brai!"

"Syl!"

Serena smiled, jumping back quickly as she watched Braixen aim up carefully and launch the blue orb up into the air, just as Sylveon began to multiply, surrounding Serena and Braixen in a small circle with about a dozen copies. Serena took a quick glance over to see Gabby's Ninetales using Flamethrower on Altaria's Mooblast, which was creating a dazzling light show for the audience. Serena gritted her teeth, knowing she was already falling behind.

"Syl syl!" Sylveon called out snapping Serena's attention back to her performance.

"Right," Serena said quickly, looking up and seeing the blue orb of Hidden Power spinning in the air. "Swift!" she shouted, pointing up, glancing to where she knew the real Sylveon was.

As soon as Sylveon unleashed the barrage of golden stars, Serena heard the gasps from the audience and smiled, filling with confidence, happy to hear their excited yells. She looked up, eyes shining as she saw the stars bouncing off of the blue orb of Hidden Power, blue and gold sparks shooting off as they made contact.

"Draco Meteor!" Gabby suddenly yelled, causing Serena to glance over to her opponent. She gasped, seeing Altaria hovering a little more to Gabby's right, before firing the orange orb into the air.

"Sylveon, use Protect!" Serena shouted quickly, immediately seeing what Gabby was up to, shocked that the other girl would stoop so low as to attack her.

Sylveon acted swiftly, all of her copies erecting a turquoise-coloured barrier around themselves, the action even getting an excited gasp from the crowd as it looked like a little light show.

However, as the meteors began to fall, Serena began to see that she'd been duped. The lit up comets fell to the stage, lighting up Gabby's side in a beautiful orange glow, while Altaria, Ninetales and Gabby gracefully danced around the meteors and showers of sparks. While some crashed fairly close to Serena's side of the stage, none hit Sylveon's barriers, and actually lit them up in an orange light, flashing through the turquoise barriers and bathing the stage in flashes of orange and turquoise lights.

"Thanks for the help, Serena," Gabby sang out, spinning around and giving the crowd a little bow before, giving another order to her Pokemon.

Serena quickly set to work, knowing she'd slipped up. "Braixen, use Flamethrower and deflect it off of Sylveon's Protect!" she shouted, pointing to where she knew the real Sylveon was.

"Braixen brai!" Braixen shouted, quickly aiming her branch-wand towards Sylveon, as her other copies disappeared. The jet of flames launched forward, striking the Protect perfectly. Sylveon immediately straightened up, helping to direct the flames upwards so that they went at the perfect angle to strike the still spinning Hidden Power. Serena smiled as she saw the attack hit, creating what looked like a blue fireball as the attacks met, until suddenly the blue orb exploded, showering the stage with blue and red sparks. The crowd gasped excitedly, and Serena smiled, sure that she'd earned the attention of the judges.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

Another excited gasp caused Serena to once again turn her attention away to see what was happening to her left. Her jaw dropped, seeing what looked like nearly the exact same effect she had been going for, but instead of Hidden Power, it had been Moonblast clashing with the Flamethrower once again, with Ninetales and Altaria now dancing through the lights and sparkles raining down on the stage with Dragon Dance and Quick Attack. It was Serena's move...but slightly different...and better.

For the first time in a long time, Serena was truly frustrated while performing. She'd allowed Gabby to not only outperform her in the first stage, but also manipulate Serena into changing her performance to help her opponent. It was so calculated. Much like Shauna's Theme Performance, this one seemed to have been planned out right from the beginning. And with what Gabby had talked about the night before, this seemed to be her exact approach to performing. It was just...business to her.

Serena felt numb, she felt frozen, by her doubt, and intimidation. She couldn't win this. Gabby was too clever, her performance was too good, and her game plan against Serena had been flawless. Gabby had gotten into Serena's head. Serena had thought too much of the other girl's words the night before. While Serena had been trying to make a spectacle with her performance to "wow" the crowd, Gabby had simply focused on her own thing, only caring about the crowd after, and then using Serena's doubts against her in this final stage.

There were whispers, gasps, yells and Serena even thought she heard her name a few times. However, she still couldn't move. Not when Sylveon appeared at her sides, wrapping her feelers around her wrists, and not when Braixen placed a paw on her shoulder, crying out to her. She felt...weak.

Finally, after what seemed like a minute of nonstop sounds interfering with her thoughts, Serena blinked, looking back up, seeing some disappointed faces in the crowd looking back at her. Some looked at her sympathetically, while others looked at her with irritation. Her eyes went to her friends, seeing looks of concern on their faces. _What happened to me?_ Serena thought, biting her lip, and looking away, feeling ashamed for losing her nerve in the middle of a performance.

"And ze winner of ze Freestyle Performance is Gabrielle!" Fantina shouted suddenly. "Laverre University has earned its second point for zer Performance Team, and we head into ze Contest battles with Lumiose University still searching for zer first point. We will now have a one hour break before we begin ze two Contest battles. Ze first match will be a one on one battle between Tierno of Lumiose University and Jimmy of Laverre University. Bonne chance to both trainers."

As the theatre began to clear out, Serena still couldn't bring herself to move. How had this happened? She'd gone from barely losing to Aria, to being completely shown up by Gabby and even freezing from her nerves. She hadn't felt like this since her first attempt at performances back when it was just her and Fennekin. This didn't make sense. Gabby shouldn't have been able to get into her head like that. Serena had her own way of thinking about performances, so there was no reason to let Gabby's thoughts influence her own.

"Serena!" She blinked, looking up when hearing the familiar sound of Ash's voice as he jumped up onto the stage, running up to her, looking concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her with wide eyes, Pikachu and Rowlet sitting on each shoulder also looking quite concerned.

"I...I'm fine," Serena said quietly, feeling somewhat dazed as she realized that pretty much everyone had left. "Wh-where is everyone?"

"I told them to go ahead. I wanted to check up on you. I..." He trailed off, clearly not sure what to say.

Serena took a deep breath, glancing down at Sylveon and Braixen at her side, both looking disappointed and worried. "I don't know what happened. I felt...off."

"I think that's normal," Ash told her, looking up at Pikachu. "I think after getting so far and losing to Alain, I've felt off in my battles. It's weird to go back to square one after getting so far in your dream." He then looked back at Serena, smiling encouragingly. "But don't feel down about it. You were still great. It was a close match."

Serena couldn't help but feel a little irritated at that. "Don't say that just to make me feel better, Ash. I completely froze. I completely lost myself."

Ash blinked in surprise at her harsh tone, but kept calm as he looked back at her. "You did great, Serena. One little part of one performance doesn't change how awesome you are at performing."

"I wasn't myself. I let Gabby get in my head...she's still in my head. Maybe I've got the wrong approach after all." Serena sighed, feeling doubt fill her again. "I think I'm gonna go get changed. I'll see you in a bit, Ash."

As she turned away, Sylveon and Braixen quickly following, Serena heard a sigh from Ash. She felt bad, knowing that he just wanted to help, but she just felt so frustrated. She wasn't the scared little girl she once was. She shouldn't have let this happen. Now she was doubting all she'd done to get so far. Was this what Palermo wanted her to learn? Was she supposed to see performing as nothing more than a career? _Maybe the Masterclass was just beginner's luck._

 **Author's Note:**

One chapter and only the performances done? I know...very long. But, considering this is the opening of a crucial part to the story, I want to show a little more of it. I know performances, Theme performances in particular, are a little less interesting, but hopefully these were good enough.

And as for Serena's struggles in particular, that's something I'm struggling with. It makes sense in my head, and then I feel like I'm not conveying it well enough. I think it'll make more sense as the story goes along, though.

Hope you enjoyed, and we'll see what the IPL has in store for Tierno and Dawn next time...and maybe see if Serena can recover a little. Bye for now.


	21. A Need to Worry

**Author's Note:**

I'm sorry...I've been so busy lately. It's been so tough to write this chapter. But...I finally managed to get it done, after many broken promises on Twitter for when it would be finished. So here it is, I hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 21: A Need to Worry**

Clemont and the others were waiting in the lobby of the training facilities outside of the theatre while Ash had gone to check on Serena. The morale wasn't too high at the moment, and everyone had their heads hanging low, avoiding the looks of the students walking past. Clemont could see that many looked disappointed, but a few gave hopeful looks to Dawn and Tierno, knowing that with strong performances from both of them, the match would end in a draw, and the Performance Team would be more than capable of bouncing back for their next set of matches against Shalour College.

"I can't believe Gabby actually managed to beat Serena," Trevor muttered, fiddling with his camera. "To be honest, I wasn't really expecting these guys to be so good. I mean, I've been training hard like all of you, but I think I underestimated how tough this IPL is going to be."

Clemont nodded, glancing around hesitantly in case any of the Laverre students were around. When he knew they weren't, he continued. "I think it's kind of hard for us to not have taken them lightly. We didn't know anything about them and Serena and Shauna had done so well in a professional competition...it did look like the odds were in our favour."

"We still have time to catch up, though," Dawn spoke up, narrowing her eyes as the rest of the group looked at her. "Tierno and I can still tie this match up. We know how good they are now, so we won't be taking them lightly in our Contest battles. Right, Tierno?"

"We're not losing our rhythm," Tierno added, nodding at Dawn's words. "We just have to move and groove and we'll win our battles for sure. That Jimmy guy is no match for my dancing."

"Right," Clemont said, glad to hear the confidence in both their voices, "we can't take these guys lightly, but we need to still be confident. The Performance Team can bounce back from this, and then the Battle Team can take the momentum and win tomorrow."

"That would be great," Shauna said quietly, still looking a little down from her loss, and perhaps Serena's as well, "but it's easier said than done. At least with me, I know I can prepare a little better next time. I don't know what Serena's feeling like right now. That must've been really tough for her. She's never spaced out like that in a Performance before. Something really got to her."

Tierno and Trevor nodded at that, and Clemont knew both of them had probably been thinking the same thing. "It was really weird, that's for sure," Tierno muttered, tapping his chin as he thought to himself. "She was so confident during her Masterclass, and that was a much bigger deal. It doesn't make sense that this match would've gotten into her head like that."

"I don't think it was the match that got into her head, but rather the opponent," Dawn chimed in, sounding a little bitter. "Something about Gabby must've messed with her. I know what that's like. I'm...a little freaked out by Plusle and Minun, well not as much anymore, but anyways, there was a Coordinator back in Sinnoh who made sure to use the ones she had against me in one of our Contest battles. It was pretty tough to fight through it. With the skill that Gabby has, managing to throw her opponent off gives her a big advantage."

Clemont nodded, thinking of battles that he'd had with trainers who liked to play mind games. His mind immediately went to Anton, who, even though he didn't outright say anything to Clemont other than a few insulting remarks, had put the Gym Leader off of his game with that overly confident attitude. Clemont was about to mention this, but just then, he noticed Ash making his way through the doors of the theatre, his head bowed low as he approached the group.

"How's Serena doing?" Shauna asked quickly, looking at Ash expectantly. "Is she okay?"

Ash looked up, glancing around at some of the students walking past them before looking back at Shauna. "Not really," he said, sighing, clearly worried about Serena. "She seems really down. I get it that she's disappointed, but she did perform really well. She can't let this one setback get to her like this."

"It was probably a big shock to her. I know I didn't expect to get completely shown up like that," Shauna pointed out, looking towards the theatre as she spoke. "These Laverre students aren't playing around."

"It's only going to get tougher," Ash whispered, glancing at Trevor and then Clemont as he spoke. "We've gotta make sure we're ready. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

The group was fairly quiet after that, as they waited for Serena. Despite their talk, Clemont could tell everyone was still feeling pretty down about things. Ash and Shauna in particular looked pretty upset. It wasn't surprising to Clemont that Shauna was so down about her loss, but he was shocked by how things seemed to have affected Ash. He actually looked a little nervous.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the theatre doors opened and Clemont and the others noticed Serena stepping out, now back in her regular outfit. As she approached the group, she avoided eye contact with everyone, making it apparent that she was still feeling pretty down about her loss. Clemont supposed she was going to need quite a bit more time to deal with it, so he didn't really blame her.

"Hey Serena," Shauna greeted, as Serena approached, "you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered, clearly lying. "I...I think I'm gonna go and see Absol before the Contest battles start. I just want to make sure he's doing okay. I'll ask Marie how the eggs are doing as well. I'll see you guys later."

"Wait, we'll come with you," Ash said quickly, making his way over to stand next to Serena. "We've got enough time."

"No, it's okay," Serena said, managing a small smile. "Really, Ash, it's fine," she added, as he gave her a concerned look. "I'll be back in time for the battles. See you guys later," she said, turning and walking away.

As they watched her go, everyone in the group was noticeably uncomfortable with what was going on. Serena had never seemed so down, and Clemont could see that Shauna, Trevor and Tierno thought this was unusual as well, which said something, given that they'd known her the longest. Clemont didn't like how things were starting out with the IPL. Their team was already off their game, and they had a long way to go to just finish the first match.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Ash asked, after a couple of minutes, looking up nervously at Pikachu on his shoulder, before turning his attention to Shauna, Trevor and Tierno, clearly hoping they'd be able to tell him.

Shauna shrugged. "I don't know. It's just one loss, and she's been able to get over that kind of thing before, but it seems like she's taking this pretty hard. Gabby really seemed to get to her. Whatever made her freeze up like that probably isn't something she can just forget about."

"We've gotta go and make sure she's okay," Ash said, narrowing his eyes and looking towards the exit. "She has to know she's not alone."

"She just wants time to herself," Dawn pointed out, fiddling with her Poketch. "There's not much we can really say to make her feel better right now. Letting her have some time on her own is probably the best thing."

Ash sighed at that, but then nodded after a couple of moments. "Yeah, I guess so. I just know that when I lost my eighth gym battle, I was feeling that way, and it was kind of tough for me to clear my head. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Pikachu, Greninja and my other Pokemon."

"Maybe one of us should go and make sure she's okay," Clemont suggested, looking at Shauna, expecting that she'd probably want to go. Surprisingly, though, it was Dawn who spoke up.

"I think I'll go, then," the Coordinator said, picking up Piplup, who was standing at her feet. "I am the Captain after all, and I want Serena to know that she can depend on me as much as she depends on Shauna. Don't worry," she added, noticing Tierno giving her a worried look, "I'll make it back in time for my battle."

"Make sure she knows we're gonna bounce back from this," Tierno told Dawn, clenching his fists. "I've got my rhythm ready."

"No need to worry," Dawn assured everyone. "We're not done yet."

* * *

As Dawn made her way through the streets of Lumiose City to get to the Pokemon Centre as quickly as possible, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous about her own upcoming match. Watching Shauna's and Serena's performances had put that little seed of doubt into her mind. If two performers as skilled as them could be beaten like that, this competition was clearly much more difficult than Dawn could ever have imagined. And Laverre University had clearly come here with a perfect game plan, knowing exactly how they would perform and how to take advantage of the system they were comfortable with.

"We're in for a tough match, Piplup," Dawn said, glancing down at the Penguin Pokemon in her arms. "These Laverre University students don't mess around. I hope you're ready for a tough battle. We need to be ready. You, Quilava and me. Especially after that battle with Tierno during the tryouts."

"Pip piplup!" Piplup exclaimed, clearly ready to bounce back after a not so great outing in that battle with Tierno. Not that he'd done a bad job, but Dawn knew that Piplup was always ready to come back strong after a tough loss.

Dawn took a quick glance at her Poketch as they continued to walk, or jog, to the Pokemon Centre. She knew they were pushing the time they had left, and that there was a decent chance that they'd miss Tierno's battle. She just had to hope that he'd be able to battle they way he had during the tryouts, and that he'd be fine with the support of their other friends. Making sure Serena was okay was the priority right now.

After a few more minutes, Dawn saw the Pokemon Centre up ahead, and she picked up her pace, wanting to get their as soon as possible. When she and Piplup finally reached it and headed inside, it was a little surprising that it was so empty. Dawn supposed that with the IPL going on, and Nurse Joy at the match, there wasn't going to be much activity here until later on. There were still a couple of people, though, but they seemed to just be there for routine checkups, which Marie was likely handling perfectly fine.

The sound of cheering and clapping caught Dawn's attention for a moment as she stood at the door, and she glanced up, surprised to see the stage of the theatre at the training facilities on a TV that was up in the lobby. She hadn't noticed it while there, but Dawn supposed that they were broadcasting the match. It looked like they were currently showing highlights of the first two rounds, and Dawn couldn't help but watch, as painful as it was.

First, there was Fantina, doing he introductions for the IPL, before calling out Shauna and Lisa to the stage, along with their Pokemon, Ivysaur and Grimer. Watching the highlights of the races, it was quite easy to see now that despite Grimer being somewhat slower than Ivysaur, it had held the advantage throughout the match, with it being much more stable, while Ivysaur had been a little rushed. Not to mention the missed trivia question that Shauna had, but Dawn couldn't blame her for that. It didn't seem to matter, regardless.

When they showed Serena's match, Dawn was still quite impressed with her performance, which was clearly at a high level, as the cheers showed. However, Gabby's just seemed to be a little more polished, and showed her chemistry with her Pokemon a little better. That momentum had clearly gotten to Serena by the next part of the match, as she quickly faltered as a response to one of Gabby's moves, and then fell behind. In the end, as Serena had frozen up, it was clear that Gabby had completely won the mental game in the performance.

"Hey Dawn!" a voice called out, snapping Dawn's attention away from the TV, making her look towards the front desk, where she could see Marie waving over to her. Dawn quickly smiled and made her way over there, coming to a stop in front of the desk. "What are you doing here? Serena said your match was starting soon."

"Don't worry, I think I'll be able to make it back in time," Dawn assured her, shuffling her feet nervously as she glanced at the door behind Marie that led into the back. "I...um...I'm actually here about Serena. I guess you know what happened in the first couple of rounds?"

"Yeah, I was watching on TV with a few people who were here for checkups. It seemed like a pretty rough start," Marie said, smiling sadly. "I don't think it was too bad for Shauna, though. If she just trains a bit more and prepares well next time, she'll be fine. I am a bit worried about Serena, though. I didn't think she would completely freeze up like that. She always seems so focused when she's practising her performances. And she never seems to lose confidence like that. She was really down when she came in here. She's with Absol in the back right now."

"Did she say anything?" Dawn asked, biting her lip nervously and glancing down at Piplup. "She was kind of trying to brush it off before, but it's pretty obvious she's really upset."

Marie shook her head, gesturing for Dawn to follow her to the back. "She just said she felt like stopping by and checking on Absol. I asked her if she was okay, but like you said, she just brushed it off like she was fine."

Dawn nodded, not really having expected anything else. She followed Marie as the young Nurse led her to the back and to the room that Absol was staying in, and then sighed, hoping she'd be able to find the right words to say to Serena. "Hopefully I can help her by talking to her. Can you keep an eye on the TV in case the battles start or something happens?"

"Sure," Marie said, nodding and turning back. "Good luck."

With that, Marie made her way back towards the other end of the hall and through the door to the lobby, while Dawn turned towards the door of the room. She took another deep breath, glancing down at Piplup, who nodded back, and then she reached out and opened the door, stepping in and taking in the surroundings of the room.

It wasn't anything different from other Pokemon Centre rooms Dawn had seen, with various shelves of potions, berries, bandages and ointments. There were a couple of checkup counters and collection of medical equipment that Dawn had no clue about near the back. At the centre of the room was a bed, with Absol lying on it, and a chair in front of it, with Serena sitting there. The honey-blonde Performer must've heard the door creak open as Dawn had entered, because she immediately looked back as Dawn came in.

"Dawn?" she said, looking surprised to see the Coordinator there. "Wh-what are you doing here? You're going to miss your battle."

Dawn shook her head, taking a chair and pulling it up next to the bed and sitting down. "I'll be back in time. Tierno's up first anyways, and we thought it was important that someone came to check up on you. I thought maybe you'd like to talk to me about...what happened."

"I told you...I'm okay," Serena said quietly, looking down at Absol, the Disaster Pokemon lying quietly as he slept. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. I just have to make sure that I'm ready for the next match and that I still support all of you."

Dawn was happy to hear that, as she'd been worried that Serena would be in a "giving up" frame of mind. However, hearing her say she wanted to be ready for her next match already, showed that wasn't the case. Dawn didn't want Serena to shut herself off, though. It made sense that she wanted time to herself, but Dawn knew that she needed Serena to know she was there if needed. "It's okay if you don't feel like talking about it, Serena, but just make sure you remember that you've got a lot of friends who are there to support you. Everyone is worried about you right now."

"I know," Serena said, sighing, and glancing up at Dawn. She took a deep breath, absentmindedly tapping the edge of the bed with her fingers. "It's just really embarrassing how this all happened. I thought that I was making so much progress with how the Masterclass had gone and how much confidence my Pokemon and I had gained throughout our journey. And then here, I have all of these great friends, who have helped me even more, and I thought that I was getting so much better, even better than I'd been before. Then, Gabby just completely showed me up, and made me think I was doing everything wrong." She stopped there, looking a little surprised by all that she'd said, clearly not having expected to say so much.

"I understand," Dawn said, after a few moments, nodding to herself. "I've felt like that a lot since my first Grand Festival. I lost in the final, and then I worked really hard after that, thinking, and knowing, that I was getting better. Then, I still ended up losing, either because someone was just better, or I just started to doubt myself."

"Are you doubting yourself now?" Serena asked, looking curiously back at Dawn. "After your battle with Tierno?"

"A little," Dawn admitted, smiling awkwardly. "Other than that tag battle and the tryouts, it's definitely been a pretty rough stretch for me. I guess I came to this school, hoping that it would get me back on track."

"I feel like I've been getting _off_ track," Serena said, sighing in frustration. "I've been training _so_ hard, but it still didn't help me. And then there's all this stuff with Ash..."

Dawn narrowed her eyes in confusion at that, giving Piplup a confused glance, before looking back at Serena. She had a feeling she knew what Serena was talking about, but Dawn didn't really want to press that issue right now. "You still performed really well, Serena. Don't forget that. Just focus on what makes you happy. No need to worry."

"Focus on what makes me happy...yeah..." Serena whispered quietly. She slowly nodded, and then glanced towards the door of the room. "We should probably head back soon. Tierno's match is probably about to start."

Dawn's eyes widened, and she was just about to glance at her Poketch, when the door suddenly opened, Marie entering the room. "Hey guys," she said, looking at her watch, you should probably head back now. Tierno's match starts in a couple of minutes, and then Dawn's up after that."

"Right," Dawn said, standing up and looking at Serena. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Serena said quickly, petting Absol before turning and following Dawn to the door. "Let's go even things up!"

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Fantina called out, snapping Ash's attention to the stage and quieting the crowd, "it is time to begin ze Contest battles between our own Lumiose University, and ze visiting Laverre University!" The crowd cheered loudly at that, making the theatre almost vibrate from the clapping, stomping and yelling. Ash noticed Clemont wince next to him and cover his ears with his hands as a loud cheer shook the theatre.

"They don't need to be _this_ loud, do they?" Clemont asked, looking around the theatre as he held his ears. "I understand being excited, but this is a little much, don't you think?"

Ash shrugged, laughing a little as the crowd gave one more cheer. "It's not _that_ bad, Clemont," he said, chuckling at Clemont's frown. "Maybe you can make an invention to make it a little quieter."

"I did," Clemont muttered, looking down in disappointment. "I anticipated a situation precisely like this, but when I was building it, it blew up. I think Turtwig was chewing on some of the materials I'd been using for it."

Ash nodded, biting back another laugh at that and turned back to look at the stage. He was pretty sure he'd heard a few machines blowing up in Clemont's room, and a lot of them were before Turtwig had shown up.

"All right," Fantina called out, as the crowd quieted down, "ze first of ze Contest battles, will be between two of ze finest dancing trainers in ze Kalos region! We have Jimmy, from Laverre University! And we have our very own Tierno, from Lumiose University!"

Ash had never seen anything like it as he watched the two trainers come out onto the stage. First was the trainer named Jimmy, from Laverre University, who came out doing an odd little sliding tap dance combination as he approached his side of the stage. Next, came Tierno, who did a few pirouettes, before sliding to the ground and spinning on his back, and finishing by jumping back up and bowing to the crowd.

"Ah! A splendid entrance by zese two talented dancing trainers!" Fantina shouted, clapping as the crowd cheered for the two entrances, particularly Tierno's. "I am sure zat we are in for a magnifique battle between zem."

As Fantina briefly began to explain the rules of Contest battles to the crowd, Ash glanced around to the back of the theatre, hoping to see some kind of sign of Dawn and Serena, still worried about Serena after her loss. _I hope Dawn managed to help her,_ he thought, wondering if Dawn had even managed to find Serena, let along talk to her and get her to come back. If she had, it appeared that the two were going to be a bit late.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Fantina announced, standing further to the back of the stage as Tierno and Jimmy pulled out their pokeballs, "zis will be a one against one Contest Battle. Ze timer will go for five minutes, and each trainer will lose points based on ze quality of moves by zer opponent and how zey adjust to zem. If one Pokemon is judged unable to battle before ze five minutes is up, ze other trainer will be declared ze winner. Are both trainers prepared?" Both nodded, and Fantina quickly raised up her hands, and then waved down. "Let ze match begin!"

"Let's go, Blastoise!" Tierno shouted, spinning around and throwing his pokeball out, the white light flashing briefly before the Shellfish Pokemon emerged, withdrawn into his shell and spinning much like his trainer was, before both stopped, straightened up and took a bow.

Jimmy was quick to answer, throwing out his own pokeball, and then holding his arms out to his sides, as the light flashed and revealed a two-legged Pokemon with a white bottom half and green upper half, with a head like a gladiator helmet and green blade-like arms. A Gallade. It was holding its arms out much like its trainer, before both started swinging them back and forth, bowing their heads, and suddenly beginning some kind of tap dance. Ash thought it looked pretty weird, but he heard some applause from the judges, and supposed they'd been somewhat impressed. A glance at the scoreboard show that both Tierno and Jimmy had lost about five percent of their points from each others' entrances.

"Let's start of strong, Blastoise! Hydro Cannon!" Tierno shouted, pointing ahead, not even bothering with a dance move. Ash gritted his teeth, already noticing Tierno's mistake.

"Gallade, use Protect!" Jimmy shouted, sliding back in sync with Gallade as the Blade Pokemon stepped back and immediately thrust his blade-like arms forward, erecting the turquoise barrier in front of himself.

The water surged forward immediately, and Ash could see that Tierno noticed his mistake as well, clenching his fists in frustration as he watched the two jets of water strike the barrier. The attack hit, and then deflected off to the sides of the stage, sparkling in the light from the Protect, and spraying the first few rows with a light mist. Ash noticed Tierno's points immediately drop to approximately three quarters of his counter, losing points for both the deflected attack and Gallade showing off his Protect.

"Not a good start for Tierno," Shauna said, sounding worried, hands held together in front of her. "He shouldn't have rushed in like that."

"I guess he's nervous. He feels like he needs to get a win really quickly," Trevor pointed out, also looking pretty worried as he watched his best friend.

"Now, Gallade, up and then use a spinning Leaf Blade!" Jimmy called out, laughing as he made the order, clearly quite confident after his first successful move. He did a little bow as Gallade braced himself, and then straightened, up jumping up a bit as Gallade, leaped up, his barrier from Protect vanishing immediately.

"Blastoise, counter with Rapid Spin!" Tierno shouted, doing a pirouette as he made the order, mimicking Blastoise as the Shellfish Pokemon withdrew into his shell and then launched himself upwards, while Gallade flipped forward, arms extending out and glowing bright green, while he began to rapidly spin himself.

The two Pokemon met in midair, green sparks shooting out as the drill-like Leaf Blade struck the Rapid Spin. The two attacks strained together a moment and Ash noticed both trainers lose a few more points, before suddenly, Blastoised seemed to falter a moment, Gallade's Leaf Blade pushing through a little bit harder. Suddenly, the large Shellfish Pokemon was struck hard once more as Gallade pulled back and lashed out, sending Blastoise hard to the ground, where he withdrew from his shell, laying still on the ground a few moments, while Gallade softly landed a few feet away. Another glance at the scores showed Tierno's points dropping to under two thirds, while Jimmy still had about ninety percent of his points.

"Blastoise, we've gotta get our rhythm back!" Tierno shouted, beginning to do some awkward hopping around, in his attempt to keep dancing. "Use Ice Beam!"

"What is he doing?" Shauna almost yelled, leaning forward in her seat and wincing as they watched Gallade deflect the attack Close Combat, before rushing forward and striking Blastoise hard in the chest with a Leaf Blade, further dropping Tierno's points so that they were now only at about half of his counter. "Is he forgetting this is a Contest battle? He can't just rush in like this."

Ash nodded, biting his lip as he watched Tierno. He could see the frustration in the dancing Coordinator's eyes. He'd seemed so confident earlier, but it was clear that he thought he'd be able to overpower Jimmy in the same way he'd overpowered Dawn in the tryout battle. This was something that Ash knew Dawn had been worried about with Tierno, especially after that tryout battle. It was obvious that he'd been hoping to end the battle this way to change the momentum, but it was only making things worse, both for himself, and the morale of the crowd.

A gasp to his left, caused Ash to turn his head, and he noticed, with a sigh of relief, Serena and Dawn approaching their row. The two girls quickly sat down so as to not disturb the people around them, Serena sitting down to Ash's left, while Dawn sat next to her. They looked disappointed by what they were seeing on stage, but managed a quick smile in greeting.

"You okay?" Ash whispered, once Serena was seated.

"I'll be okay," she said quickly, smiling back. "Sorry for kind of snapping at you earlier."

"Don't worry about it," Ash said quickly, before looking back towards the stage, where Blastoise had just managed to dodge a Leaf Blade attack by spinning away with Rapid Spin, dropping Jimmy's points to approximately eighty-five percent, while Tierno's were at about forty percent. "I think we should be worrying more about Tierno right now."

"He's battling too much like it's a regular battle," Dawn said, jaw clenched as she watched, grimacing as Blastoise struck another Protect from Gallade with a Rapid Spin, dropping Tierno's points to about a third, before Gallade went forward with an oddly graceful Close Combat, the punches and kicks fitting perfectly with Gallade's dance routine. Blastoise was pummelled back about five feet, before being tossed back onto his shell, Tierno's points now down to about twenty percent.

"Finish this up Gallade!" Jimmy shouted, spinning around and bowing, just as Gallade did. "Use Leaf Blade and then finish up with one more Close Combat!"

"Oh no..." Serena whispered, eyes widening as she watched Blastoise struggling to get up from being stuck on the back of his shell. The panic from the Shellfish Pokemon was only more evident by his trainer's panic, as Tierno watched on with wide eyes.

"He can't panic," Ash muttered, leaning forward in frustration. "He can get out of this."

It didn't matter, though, as Tierno was too overwhelmed, staring at his vulnerable Pokemon in shock, clearly having no idea how to defend as Gallade leaped back, spread out his glowing green arms, and rushed forward.

"Gallllade!" he shouted, as he leaped forward and swung out, striking Blastoise upwards with one arm and sending him up into the air, crying out in pain. Gallade didn't waste any time after that, though, quickly spinning around and striking with his other arm, sending Blastoise further up into the air, Tierno's points now down to about ten percent.

"Now finish this!" Jimmy yelled, spinning around and jumping up as Gallade did the same, leaping into the air, spreading out and then sending out a barrage of kicks and punches towards Blastoise, who yelled out and grunted in pain from each strike, as gravity pulled the two back towards the ground. As they hit, with Blastoise landing hard and not moving once he landed, and Gallade, leaping back gracefully and bowing in front of his trainer, the result was clear.

 _BZZZ!_

Ash gritted his teeth as he watched Tierno staring at his defeated Blastoise. Not only had he lost all of his points, but his Pokemon had been completely overpowered as well. And now...Lumiose University was down three points to none, with only Dawn's match remaining. Already, their Performance Team was in a rough spot.

"Poor Tierno," Shauna said, looking sadly at the others. "He was so excited about becoming a Coordinator. He's gonna be really disappointed."

Ash took a deep breath, turning his gaze to Dawn, who was looking down at the stage sadly. "It doesn't matter right now, right Dawn?" he said seriously, bringing her attention to him. "Tierno's still learning, so it's not that big a deal. He'll bounce back the next time, just like everyone else. You just need to show everyone that we can do it. You're a Captain for a reason."

"Ash is right," Serena added, putting a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "You've already made me feel a little better about what happened with me. I know you can get us back on track. Set a good example for Tierno. He needs it right now. We all do."

Dawn nodded, looking down at Piplup, who looked back confidently, thumping his chest with his flipper. "Pip piplup pip!" he shouted, looking more serious than ever.

"Right," Dawn added, looking at Ash, and then Serena. "We're not going down without a fight."

* * *

"Awww man, that really sucked," Tierno whined, sitting down next to Serena, in the spot where Dawn had been before heading down to get ready for her battle. "I really thought I was going to win that one. I was a total mess out there. I didn't look like a Coordinator at all."

"Don't worry, Tierno, you'll get another chance," Shauna said, looking over at him, sympathy in her eyes. "Really, it was your first true Contest battle. Your battles at the tryouts were nowhere near this level. Even your battle against Dawn wasn't like a regular Contest battle, since you'd both been battling all day before that."

"So I didn't even deserve to win _that_ battle," Tierno muttered, looking down, frustration in his eyes. "Maybe I made a mistake in becoming a Coordinator. It doesn't seem like I'm very good at it. I wasn't even the better dancer. Jimmy had better rhythm and he and Gallade were able to move and groove in perfect sync."

Serena pursed her lips, looking over at Shauna hesitantly. "I don't think Shauna meant it like that," she pointed out, looking back at Tierno. "She's just saying that you can't expect to be a Top Coordinator right away. Especially since you just started out. Dawn's been a Coordinator for years, and she's still learning new things and struggles sometimes."

"You're already a strong trainer, Tierno," Ash chimed in, Pikachu nodding from his shoulder. "You just need to work on the differences between a regular battle and a Contest battle. Overpowering opponents doesn't always work in a Contest. You were able to do it against Dawn, because you'd managed to tire out Piplup already, and then took Dawn by surprise. Jimmy probably had a strategy prepared just in case you were going to charge straight in like that. He probably knows that you were in the Kalos League, and aren't used to Contest battles."

"Is there anything these Laverre students _don't_ know about us?" Tierno muttered, glaring over at where the Laverre students were seated. "It seems like they've had something planned for each of us and a way to beat our styles. Even for something as simple as a race."

Serena nodded, thinking about how Gabby had managed to manipulate her into having Sylveon use Protect, just to have her disturb her own performance. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Usually these performances or contests involve more people, so you can't plan out a strategy against a specific person. With this, Lisa, Gabby and Jimmy all seemed to know exactly what to do against us."

"If I was more prepared, I could've still won," Shauna said, shaking her head at the thought of her performance. "I made a complete fool of myself."

"At least you didn't completely freeze up," Serena pointed out.

"You guys are being too hard on yourselves," Trevor said, laughing a little nervously. "Remember, it's just the first match of six. If we win the other five, we'll still make it into the playoffs."

Ash nodded in agreement. "Right, we're still in this. Whether we're on the Battle Team, or the Performance Team, we're still all just on one team. We can still do this. There's still a long way to go before we need to worry."

"Don't give up till it's over, right?" Serena asked, winking at Ash.

"Exactly," Ash said, nodding. He paused a moment, looking deep in thought. He looked curiously at Serena, and for a moment, she wondered if he was remembering anything about that camp, but then he just smiled and looked towards the stage. "Look, I think they're about to get started," he said, pointing down to where Fantina was making her way out to the front.

"All right, welcome back ladies and gentlemen to ze final round of ze Performance Team matchup between Laverre University and our own Lumiose University!" Fantina announced, getting some unenthusiastic applause from the crowd, who was already feeling down, knowing that they'd already given up three points, regardless of the result in this match. "Now now," Fantina called out, noticing the disappointment in the crowd, "I know zat many of ze Lumiose University students are disappointed with ze results so far, but do not forget, each individual victory is what earns you a point in ze standings. Zis match will be very important for Miss Dawn in order to get Lumiose University back on track, so zat zey can come back strong in zer next match. As of now, zer are still five more matches, and twenty points available, along with ze point in zis match. You must keep your spirits up!"

This seemed to inspire that crowd a bit more, and Fantina received a much more enthusiastic round of applause after that, with many people cheering loudly for Dawn and Lumiose University to make a comeback, starting with this very match.

"Come on, Dawn, you can do this," Serena whispered, clenching her fists and holding them tightly together in her lap. She could feel the tension among her friends. Ash was almost out of his seat as he watched the stage.

"Now, let us all welcome ze competing coordinators for zis final match of ze Performance Round for Match One of ze IPL. Casey, from Laverre University! And Dawn, from our very own Lumiose University!"

"Go Dawn!" Serena cheered loudly, along with her friends, as they watched the blue-haired Coordinator make her way onto the stage, dressed up in her Performance Team uniform, adjusting her hair underneath the hat, looking a little self-conscious with her awkward waves. On the other end of the stage, was the girl that seemed to be the only genuinely nice member of the Laverre University teams, Casey, her red hair looking like fire in the lights on stage. She gave Dawn a friendly wave, before giving a little bow to the crowd. Serena appreciated that this girl seemed to be a little nicer, but she did hope Dawn wasn't going to let up. This was still a very important match.

Once the crowd had calmed down a bit, Fantina raised her hands, backing up towards the back of the stage, as Dawn and Casey took their positions. "Now, as you all know, zis Contest battle will be slightly different from ze first battle between Tierno and Jimmy. Rather zan ze two coordinators having only ze one Pokemon, zey will be required to use two, in a Double Battle!"

Serena swallowed nervously hearing that. She'd known that this would be part of the IPL, but hadn't really thought about how difficult it would be until now. She'd had a Double Battle once herself, against Aria of all people. It had definitely been pretty difficult to manage how she commanded her Pokemon, and she knew this would be even more difficult, with such a large crowd, the high pressure situation, and the much less casual atmosphere for the battle.

"Dawn will be okay," Ash said, clearly noticing Serena's nervousness. "She's been to three Grand Festivals. She knows how to control two Pokemon at once. She's probably better at it than any of us. I know _I_ would have a tough time against her in a Double Battle."

"Yeah, she's pretty good at them," Tierno added, as Fantina was quickly explaining the Double Battle rules to the audience. "She's been helping me get used to them as well. I've battled a few times like that before, but it's pretty tough for contests."

Serena didn't know if that made her feel too much better, but she was glad that Dawn was at least experienced with this kind of thing. With how Laverre University had planned out their strategy for each member of the Performance Team so far, it would at least be a little more challenging to prepare for a match where Dawn could use two different Pokemon, and with it being something she was used to. Maybe the odds for this match were a little more evened out.

"Now, Miss Dawn and Miss Casey, please prepare your Pokemon!" Fantina called out, raising her arms as both girls held up two pokeballs. "Zer will be five minutes on ze clock. If two Pokemon for one side are unable to battle, ze other trainer will be declared ze winner. Otherwise, ze trainer who has more points by ze end of ze five minutes, or ze trainer who is able to deplete zer opponent's points first, will be declared ze winner. Are you ready?" Once Dawn and Casey both nodded, Fantina waved her arms down. "Begin!"

"Piplup! Quilava! SpotLIGHT!" Dawn shouted out happily, throwing up her pokeballs and spinning around in a Tierno-like pirouette. Serena could just see that the pokeballs were encased in those ball capsules that Fantina had shown in her first class, and as they opened up in the air, Piplup and Quilava emerged among dozens of bright, golden stars, which immediately exploded like fireworks as Piplup and Quilava hit them with Bubble Beam and Flamethrower as they emerged.

Casey was not to be outdone, though, as her Pokemon emerged from their own ball capsules, dozens of shining, pink hearts spinning around a Ponyta and Blitzle, who both fired out a Flamethrower and a Thunderbolt into the hearts, creating flaming, red hearts and sparking, yellow ones, which lit up the stage with a red and yellow glow. Serena quickly glanced at the scoreboard and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as she noticed both Dawn and Casey lose the same amount of points, both of their counters dropping by about ten percent.

"Let's start this off strong, guys!" Dawn shouted confidently, snapping Serena's attention back to her friend. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam on Blitzle! Quilava, follow it up with Flame Wheel!"

"Why is she using Bubble Beam on Blitzle?" Tierno almost shouted in shock. "Pontya's the fire type!"

"She's got a plan," Ash said confidently, narrowing his eyes as he watched.

"Blitzle, dodge with Agility! And Ponyta, counter Flame Wheel with Flame Charge!" Casey called out, jumping side to side as Blitzle began to do so as well.

Serena could barely keep up as she watched all four Pokemon immediately get to work, Piplup being the first as he leaped forward and fired out a massive stream of bubbles that rushed towards Blitzle, who quickly started jumping side to side and up and down, looking like a blur as it dodged the bubbles. However, as it dodged the incoming stream of bubbles, Quilava quickly followed up, rushing in just behind the stream of bubbles and engulfing himself in flames, before tucking his body in and rolling forward at an incredible speed. Ponyta was next, her body lighting up as flames engulfed her, and she ran forward, just as Blitzle jumped to the side. The two fire types met at the centre of the stage, flames blasting out in all directions as they clashed together, before they were both launched backwards by the impact, skidding along the ground.

"Oh what a start!" Fantina shouted excitedly, as almost everyone in the crowd looked to the scoreboard, seeing the point counters dropping in unison once again, so that both Dawn and Casey had about three quarters of their points remaining. "These two seem to be very evenly matched."

"Not bad, Dawn!" Casey called out happily, as all four Pokemon took a quick breather from their heated opening to the battle. "I knew that I'd be in for a challenge with this one. I'm glad that I'm right so far. I like a good challenge."

"Well you're in for one," Dawn told her confidently, raising an arm and pointing upwards. "Quilava, use Swift, and Piplup, use Bubble Beam!"

Serena was surprised that Dawn wasn't ordering an attack, but quickly noticed why she'd made the order, as the crowd immediately began cheering from the results. As Quilava's Swift attack reached the air, sparkling in the lights on stage, Piplup's bubbles from Bubble Beam immediately began to surround them, causing the stars to become suspended in midair, floating within the bubbles.

Casey wasn't going to sit by and let Dawn put on a show, though, immediately making her own order to destroy the floating stars. "Blitzle, use Charge! Ponyta, use Bounce, and then Fire Blast!"

Blitzle moved first, immediately rushing to the centre of the stage, body glowing yellow as he began to spark, electricity rushing all around his body. A moment later, Ponyta kicked off hard, seemingly flying up so that she was at the centre of the floating stars.

Serena noticed Dawn smiling, though, almost like she'd planned this out. "Quilava, use Flamethrower on Blitzle! Piplup, follow it up with Ice Beam!"

"Lava!" Quilava shouted!

"Luuup!" Piplup quickly followed.

And once again, the moves on stage were almost too quick to follow. Serena gasped, watching the the jet of flames from Quilava's mouth rush toward the sparking Blitzle, while up above, Ponyta was firing her own five pronged fire attack into the air full of floating bubble-stars. As Blitzle was struck, skidding away, body smoking a little from the attack, but still sparking, Serena gasped as the stars began to explode from up above, creating a shower of blue, gold and red sparks from the mixture of bubbles, stars and flames. Before Serena could fully admire that, though, Piplup's Ice Beam quickly struck Blitzle, knocking the electric type to the ground, a bit of ice forming on its side as the electricity suddenly stopped sparking along its body.

"Oh wow! And with zat, Dawn has taken ze lead, with Casey accidentally further displaying ze beauty of Dawn's moves, by using Ponyta's Fire Blast on ze Bubble Beam and Swift combination!" Serena, along with the rest of the crowd, cheered loudly, as Dawn's points barely dropped, so that she still had about seventy percent, while Casey's dropped all the way down to half.

It definitely wasn't over, though, as Casey was quick to make her next move. "All right, Ponyta, use all the power you have, and hit Quilava with Bounce!"

Serena gasped, her eyes quickly moving to Ponyta, still in midair among the few sparkles remaining from the exploded stars. The Fire Horse Pokemon descended like a rocket, approaching Quilava far too quickly for the Volcano Pokemon, or its trainer, to react. He cried out in pain as Ponyta's hooves struck with full force, sending him flying back as she slid back, already preparing her next attack, which was ordered quickly.

"Now, use Fire Blast on Piplup!" Casey shouted, thrusting her arm forward.

"Piplup, counter with Whirlpool!" Dawn countered, as Piplup raised his flippers quickly in preparation.

"Perfect! Blitzle, use Thunderbolt!" Casey ordered quickly.

Serena knew it wasn't good as soon as she sensed Ash tensing up next to her. A moment later, she could see why. Blitzle's body once again sparked with electricity, seemingly doubling in size from what had been covering it before. He moved far quicker than Piplup and Ponyta, as both of them were still preparing their attacks. Then, suddenly, he straightened up, and the electricity surged forward, striking Piplup's semi-formed Whirlpool and surging through it and down onto Piplup.

"Piiipluuup!" Piplup shrieked in pain, as the Whirlpool immediately stopped forming. It was bad timing, too, as just in that moment, Ponyta unleashed her own attack, the five pronged fire attack rushing forward and striking Piplup just as the electricity stopped surging around him. He was sent flying back and landed hard next to Quilava, body smoking from the fire attack.

"Oh no, and with zat, Dawn's points have drastically dropped!" Fantina called out, as everyone stared up in surprise, noticing that Dawn's points were now lower than Casey's, only about forty percent remaining.

Serena frowned, seeing Dawn glancing up nervously at the scoreboard. "She can't focus on that now, she just has to keep battling," Ash said, noticing Dawn's nervous look as well. "She can still win this."

Dawn definitely wasn't giving up, though, as she quickly made her next order, Piplup and Quilava rising to their feet, despite their clear exhaustion. As they launched forward another Swift and Bubble Beam combination, this time aimed at Blitzle and Ponyta, Clemont spoke up, not sounding very happy. "Casey's got Dawn right where she wants her. She was waiting for the moment until she got the lead. Now she just has to defend it."

Serena narrowed her eyes in confusion, not really getting what Clemont was saying, until she noticed Blitzle and Ponyta quickly counter Dawn's combination attack with a Thunderbolt and Fire Spin combination, hiding the two of them among Ponyta's flames to avoid the stars and bubbles, and then striking Piplup and Quilava with the Thunderbolt. Serena winced, seeing Dawn's points quickly drop to about one quarter of her counter.

Dawn seemed to see where this was going, and seemed to take a more cautious approach with her next plan, having Piplup create a sheet of ice with Ice Beam, before Quilava rushed forward with a Flame Wheel attack, initially sped up by the ice, before melting it behind him.

Casey was ready for this as well, though, having Blitzle break the ice with Stomp, and then having Ponyta counter Flame Wheel with Flame Charge once again, causing another stalemate at the centre of the stage, sending both Pokemon sliding backwards, panting from the exertion. Both Dawn and Casey lost a few points, but Dawn lost a few more, dropping to just below ten percent, while Casey still had about forty percent.

"Piplup! Quilava! We aren't giving up!" Dawn shouted, as her two Pokemon straightened up, looking confidently towards their opponents, ready for whatever Dawn was going to ask of them. "I don't care if we're losing. Like I said, we're not going down without a fight. Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

"Not so fast, Dawn!" Casey yelled, as Piplup held up his flippers, forming the swirling vortex of water above him. "Blitzle, use Thunderbolt!"

"Counter it with Swift, Quilava!" Dawn ordered quickly, the fire type leaping forward, as though guarding Piplup.

"Lava!" Quilava shouted, immediately launching his shining golden stars forward, just as the bolt of electricity surged towards their side of the stage. The attacks strained together a few moments, and then an explosion of smoke filled the centre of the stage. Serena smiled, seeing Casey's points drop by a bit, with the failed attack on Piplup.

"Now, Quilava, get behind Piplup and use Flamethrower! Piplup, let Whirlpool go!" Dawn shouted, Quilava quickly rushing back behind the Penguin Pokemon, while Piplup raised his flippers up higher and then thrust them forward, the massive vortex of water getting launched forward as he did so.

"Luuup!" he shouted, voice shaking from the effort.

"Lava!" Quilava quickly added, launching his flames forward, which quickly began surrounding the Whirlpool, making it steam, but also lighting it up, making it a flaming vortex as it sped towards their opponents.

"Ponyta, Fire Spin! Blitzle, charge right through with Wild Charge!" Casey ordered quickly, voice shaking a little, clearly nervous.

Serena could barely breathe as she watched, seeing Ponyta immediately fire out the spinning flames, which seemed to cloak her and Blitzle once more like they had before. However, a moment later, Blitzle emerged, lit up in a yellow light as he emerged from the flames. He charged past the flaming Whirlpool, heading straight for Piplup, just as the Whirlpool began straining against Ponyta's Fire Spin. As the Whirlpool began to overpower the Fire Spin, steam shooting up into the air as the water evaporated the fire, Casey was heard calling out in concern for Ponyta, just as Blitzle approached Piplup, Dawn calling out for him at the same time. Then, suddenly, each attack struck, a mini explosion on the left side of the stage from Blitzle's attack, and a much larger one from Piplup's.

Smoke filled the one side of the stage, while the crowd gasped from the power that Piplup had managed to show. Serena's eyes immediately went to the scoreboard, seeing that nothing was happening, the judges clearly waiting to see the results of the damage that each side had caused. Then, finally, the smoke began to clear, and Serena's eyes immediately found the forms of Ponyta on one side of the stage, and Piplup on the other. Both of them were knocked out. When she looked back at the scoreboard, Serena could see Dawn's points dropping, where they stopped just short of her being at zero, while Casey's dropped to about twenty percent. _There's still a chance,_ Serena thought hopefully, looking towards the panting Quilava and Blitzle, while Dawn and Casey quickly recalled their defeated Pokemon.

"Blitzle, use Thunderbolt! Let's finish this!" Casey called out confidently, clearly sensing her victory.

"Quilava, counter with Swift!" Dawn shouted, sounding surprisingly confident herself. "I know you can do it!"

"BliiitZLE!"

"QuiiiLAVA!"

A massive bolt of electricity rushed forward, speeding towards Quilava so quickly, Serena was sure there was no chance. However, just before it managed to reach Quilava, he managed to fire off the barrage of golden stars, stalling the incoming Thunderbolt long enough for him to leap out of the way. Serena smiled, seeing Casey's points suddenly drop, so that now she had about fifteen percent remaining. "Dawn might actually win this!" she said excitedly, while her friends cheered at the successful dodge.

"Oh magnifique! A wonderful dodge and a powerful Swift by Quilava to keep him and Dawn in the match!" Fantina called out excitedly.

"Marvellous!" Sycamore's voice could be heard from the back, as the crowd cheered

"Now, how about we wrap this up, Quilava," Dawn said confidently. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Counter with Wild Charge!" Casey ordered quickly, thrusting her arm forward as Blitzle's body was engulfed in electricity.

The flames on Quilava's back shot up, lighting up the stage as he prepared his flames, while Blitzle stamped his feet and then began to run forward. As the electric type rushed towards Quilava, he unleashed his powerful jet of flames, apparently hitting the front few rows with heat and causing them to gasp. The two attacks met with full force, with Blitzle's body sparking and smoking as he strained against Quilava's attack. As he was pushed back slightly, Serena noticed Casey's points drop slightly, putting her just over ten percent. However, with a yell, Blitzle began to push forward.

Serena watched with wide eyes as both Pokemon strained to overpower the other with their attacks, Blitzle somehow managing to push forward bit by bit as they continued. Then, finally, with just a few feet in between them, Blitzle cried out loudly once more, and his body glowed even brighter as electricity sparked wildly around his body. He stamped his feet hard into the ground, and then gave one last push forward, cutting off the flames from Quilava, and then slamming his body with full force into the Volcano Pokemon.

 _BZZZ!_ The buzzer sounded loudly, as Quilava was thrown back, sliding along the ground, before slowly rising, panting heavily as he looked across at Blitzle, his face mirroring Dawn's as both gazed at their opponent's in shocked disappointment.

"And with zat, Dawn's points have reached zero!" Fantina called out. "Ze winner is Casey, from Laverre University!"

 **Author's Note:**

I think that while the battle was the longest part of the chapter, having a mini Dawn and Serena bonding moment was my favourite thing. I can imagine those two being best friends. Or maybe it's just that those two are my favourites, so I assume that...I don't know.

Anyways, hopefully you haven't forgotten the story after such a long time without it. I hope I can get another one out this week. I was hoping to do a Valentines oneshot, but unfortunately I don't think I'll have time for it. I could do a late one, but...maybe I should just focus on Lumiose University. You can let me know what you'd prefer. Oh...and Happy Valentines Day!

Anything else with the chapter...hopefully it doesn't seem too long for the IPL so far. I wasn't going to make it this long at first, but then I decided I needed to show a bit more than originally planned. While it may seem kind of predictable right now, hopefully you can see that the losses are slightly different for each character. It kind of sets up a different way for each to bounce back. At least...I hope my poor writing skills can show that. Maybe not.

Thanks for your patience. I really do appreciate it. I'm doing my best to limit these delays. I'll see you next time. Hopefully very soon!


	22. Anton's Secret

**Author's Note:**

Yes, I am alive. I'm sorry about how long it's been...again. I just seem to be getting busier and busier these days as things come up. Soon, though...soon I'll at least be more consistent. Anyways...not much to say until after the chapter. So I hope you enjoy. Here it is.

 **Chapter 22: Anton's Secret**

"Clemont, when are _you_ going to battle?" a little girl's voice piped up next to Clemont, as he and his friends got into their seats in the main battlefield that had been opened up just next to the training facilities. It was similar to Clemont's gym, but had plenty more seats for the large crowds attending today's battles. Unfortunately, Clemont wasn't able to quite enjoy it, with his sister, Bonnie, deciding once again that she needed to find him a "keeper". "I need you to do a good job in your battle so that I can find you a keeper. More girls will be impressed if you win, so make sure you do."

Clemont wondered if he'd ever find a way to get Bonnie to stop embarrassing him. He knew it wasn't very likely, having no inventions that seemed capable of stopping her from doing so, with the exception of his Aipom Arm. He decided to just hope that once the battles began, she'd be distracted enough. That _was_ the reason she'd come here after all. Well, that and his promise to let her help with the egg, which she was currently holding, Dedenne keeping an eye on it from her head. "I'm not up until Trevor's match is finished," Clemont told her, looking over to his left, where Ash was talking to Flint and Agatha about his own battle, which would wrap up the competition for the weekend. "Hopefully he can win, and then my job will be to keep the momentum going so that Ash can finish up strong for us."

"And if you do _that_ , maybe I can convince Shauna to take care of you," Bonnie said, starting to giggle as Clemont whipped his head back, looking mortified as he saw Shauna, who was on Bonnie's other side, look at the little girl in confusion at the mention of her name.

"What was that, Bonnie?" Shauna asked, looking between Bonnie and Clemont. After noticing the look on Clemont's face, she seemed to figure it out, and then laughed as well, shaking her head and looking at Bonnie. "You think I'm a keeper?"

"Well you _are_ Clemont's partner for this egg project," Bonnie pointed out, holding up the egg as she spoke. "And Clemont _did_ mention that you guys were doing pretty well so far. Plus, with Serena clearly only interested in Ash, you're the best chance Clemont has right now."

"I've got plenty of chances!" Clemont argued, eyes widening immediately after he spoke. He grabbed his glasses, looking away and pretending to clean them, avoiding Bonnie's and Shauna's eyes. "Just take care of the egg, Bonnie."

Bonnie sighed, and even though Clemont wasn't looking, he knew she was exchanging some kind of mischievous look with Shauna that was definitely not good. "I knew he was struggling without me," Bonnie muttered, "but I didn't know he'd become delusional."

"Don't worry, Bonnie, I think Clemont will be fine," Shauna said, looking at Clemont as he put his glasses back on and gave his sister an exasperated look. "But like you said, he needs to show off some good battling skills in order to impress the girls here...and other places...like Shalour City, maybe."

Clemont tried to ignore that last part, although he couldn't help but imagine himself winning a battle while Korrina watched on, and he looked towards the screen over the right side of the battlefield. It showed six pictures, with Laverre's students on the left side, and Lumiose's students on the right. The points, currently at zero each side, were displayed at the bottom. However, Clemont also noticed on the top right, the standings for the Performance teams, which included the Shalour and Coumarine teams, who must've had their match yesterday as well. It didn't look good.

 _1st Place: Laverre University (4pts)_

 _2nd Place: Coumarine College (3pts)_

 _3rd Place: Shalour College (1pt)_

 _4th Place: Lumiose University (0pts)_

With the way things had gone for Lumiose University the day before, Clemont knew that it was very important for a bounce back from the Battle Team today, even if it didn't help the Performance Team in the short term. The morale boost was the most important thing at the moment, with everyone being down after yesterday's sweep. It had even looked like Dawn was going to at least give them something to cheer about, but Casey had managed to snatch that victory from her, gaining too large a lead for Dawn to come back from. Clemont's gaze drifted over to where the blue-haired Coordinator was, and could see her looking up towards the scoreboard as well, while Tierno and Serena sat quietly next to her, both of them still looking pretty down about their losses as well.

"Clemont's a pretty strong trainer," Bonnie said suddenly, causing Clemont to look at her in surprise, not really having been expecting a compliment from her. "He's one of the best gym leaders in Kalos, don't you know? He'll beat his opponent easily."

At this, Ash turned his head, apparently hearing the conversation. Clemont noticed that his friend wasn't looking quite like himself, but it was only for a brief moment, as Ash quickly gave a confident smile to Bonnie. "You bet! Clemont's been training hard, just like the rest of us. I'm sure he and Trevor will get us a couple of wins. Then it's up to me."

"Just make sure you trust Greninja, and yourself," Flint spoke up from behind Ash. "This is a big battle for the two of you, and I'm sure both of you are still trying to come to terms with your loss in the Kalos League."

Clemont glanced at Ash, wondering how he was going to respond to that, but the raven-haired trainer just nodded, looking out to the battlefield, sitting up straight as the sounds of opening doors were heard. Clemont looked up to see Trevor entering from the right side of the battlefield, while his opponent, the blonde girl, named Sasha, entered from the opposite side. A few moments later, a referee approached the centre sideline, while Professor Sycamore made his way to the centre of the battlefield. Clemont could sense the excitement of the crowd, the whispers all around the arena making him feel like he was in the Kalos League arena again, about to watch Trevor opening up _that_ league instead.

"Welcome, Lumiose University and Laverre University, to the opening of the Intereschool Pokemon League – Battle Division!" Professor Sycamore announced, getting a loud cheer from the crowd. "I'm sure you're all quite anxious to get things started, but first off, I'll give a brief explanation for the format of these battles. As you all know, each team has three trainers. Our own, from Lumiose University, are Trevor, Clemont and Ash, who will each be battling a trainer from Laverre University. Each battle will be a one on one battle, and each individual victory, much like with the performances, will earn the victorious team one point."

"So three points are up for grabs," Ash said, looking over at Clemont. "We have to make sure we don't fall behind. We've got less points that we can catch up with than the Performance Team."

Clemont nodded, not even having thought about that. Even with just one less point available in this match, with all the remaining points available, that would be six less points than the Performance Team had available to them. They had much less room for error.

Sycamore continued on for a couple of minutes, explaining a few other somewhat repetitive battling rules, and then looked towards Trevor, and then Sasha. "Now, please give a round of applause for our first battlers, Trevor, representing Lumiose University, and Sasha, representing Laverre University. Good luck to both of you!"

With that, Sycamore began making his way towards his seat, while the crowd cheered for the nervous looking Trevor. A moment later, the referee stepped forward, raising his arms up, while Trevor and Sasha both pulled out their pokeballs, ready to begin the match. "This will be a one on one battle between Sasha, of Laverre University, and Trevor, of Lumiose University!" he shouted, while the crowd went quiet. "When one Pokemon is unable to battle, the other will be declared the winner. Do you agree?" Both trainers nodded, and the referee immediately waved his arms down. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Aerodactyl, let's go!" Trevor shouted, throwing out his pokeball, the purple, reptilian rock and flying type roaring loudly as it emerged, spreading its leathery wings wide and showing off its sharp teeth and massive jaws. Clemont was surprised Trevor wasn't using Charizard, but he couldn't say that Aerodactyl looked weak. And with how Laverre seemed so prepared for the Performance Team, it was probably a wise move for Trevor to not use his main Pokemon.

Clemont then turned his gaze to Sasha as she watched Aerodactyl for a moment. She didn't look too surprised, which Clemont had expected, but he was just hoping that she was hiding it. She then smiled, glancing down at her pokeball, and then threw it forward. "Weavile, come on out!" she shouted, as the pokeball opened, and the Sharp Claw Pokemon emerged. It was a weasel-like Pokemon, with a red, feathery crown on its head, and red feathers on its neck and back. It also had very sharp looking claws, which Clemont expected could easily match Aerodactyl's sharp fangs.

For a moment, Trevor seemed to be waiting for Sasha to make the first move, but it quickly became clear that she was going to win the waiting game, so he soon made the first order of the match. "Aerodactyl, up in the air, and then use Flamethrower!"

"Use Ice Beam to counter it!" Sasha answered immediately, raising a hand up and pointing to where Aerodactyl was coming to a stop midair.

"Weavile!" Weavile called out, lowering its body and opening its mouth, the orb of icy energy forming in its mouth, just as Aerodactyl screeched loudly and thrust his head forward, a massive jet of flames rushing out towards the ground, heading straight for Weavile.

The counterattack worked well, though, with Weavile immediately unleashing its beam of icy energy, which exploded against the flames, steaming on contact for a moment, before an explosion shook the air between the two Pokemon, smoke billowing into the air, while the shock wave, sent both Pokemon back a few feet.

The crowd cheered, clearly happy that it appeared as though Trevor was, at the very least, on even terms with Sasha. However, Clemont didn't think so. "Aerodactyl's Flamethrower should've been able to overpower an ice type attack," he said, causing Shauna to look at him curiously. "For a move that had the type advantage, those attacks were too close in power," he added.

"You don't think Trevor's going to lose just because of that, do you?" Shauna asked, looking back towards the two Pokemon. "It's just the start of the battle."

"No," Clemont said quietly, noticing Trevor watching Weavile nervously, likely having noticed the same thing Clemont had, "but Trevor's going to need to be more careful if he's going to win. If Weavile can defend a Flamethrower with that Ice Beam, it'll do a lot of damage as well. Not to mention what other attacks it might have."

And it wasn't long before Sasha decided to show off more of those attacks, as she quickly ordered Weavile into action. "Run forward, and then jump and use Metal Claw!" she shouted, eyes narrowed as she watched both Weavile and Aerodactyl, clearly ready for any counterattacks.

Trevor had to act, though, definitely not wanting Aerodactyl to be hit by Weavile's very sharp, shining Metal Claw. "Aerodactyl, counter it with Dragon Claw!" he ordered quickly, as the Fossil Pokemon roared loudly in answer, flew up, and then dove towards the leaping Weavile, claw out in front of him, glowing bright green. "Aero!" Aerodactyl screeched loudly, just as he thrust forward towards the incoming Weavile.

"Weavile!" Weavile grunted, just as the attacks made contact. For a moment, Clemont was sure that Aerodactyl's size and downwards momentum would give him the edge to overpower Weavile, but the Sharp Claw Pokemon managed to hold its own, straining against Aerodactyl's Dragon Claw with its Metal Claw, green and yellow sparks shooting towards the ground from the clashing claws. The two Pokemon tried once more to force their attacks through, but neither could do so, and they shoved one another back, Weavile landing softly on the ground, while Aerodactyl righted himself in midair.

"She's toying with Trevor," Ash said suddenly, sounding frustrated. "That Weavile is a lot stronger than it looks. Just like with the Ice Beam, that Metal Claw shouldn't have been so strong coming from below against Aerodactyl attacking from above. Sasha's just testing out how strong Aerodactyl is."

Clemont nodded, noticing Trevor looking a little more nervous, casting a few glances over towards his watching friends. Clearly, he was aware of what Sasha was doing. Clemont noticed Ash giving Trevor a confident nod, signalling that he shouldn't give up yet, which Clemont knew was true. If Trevor played it smart, he could still win this.

"All right, Weavile, let's keep it up! Use Ice Beam!" Sasha yelled suddenly, as Weavile leaped back to stand in front of her.

"Weavile!" Weavile shouted in answer, taking a deep breath, and then unleashing the blue, icy energy towards Aerodactyl.

"Quick, use Flamethrower and fly straight ahead!" Trevor ordered, watching the incoming attack closely.

"Aero!" Aerodactyl screeched, inhaling and then firing out his jet of flames, which immediately clashed against the Ice Beam, while he flew straight, keeping his attack going. The two attacks exploded against each other, smoke once again billowing into the air, while the icy energy and flames strained against each other for a few more seconds, before a larger cloud of smoke expanded between the two Pokemon.

"Now, fly through and then use Dragon Claw!" Trevor ordered, pointing ahead, looking exited with his opportunity. Clemont watched closely as the Fossil Pokemon flew into the cloud of smoke, while Weavile looked up in surprise, clearly not having expected this move, however, its trainer seemed prepared.

"Weavile, get ready with Metal Claw," Sasha ordered, staring up at the cloud of smoke and then smirking. "Jump now!"

"Aero!" Aerodactyl screeched, emerging in just that moment, green claw outstretched as it dove towards the ground. Its cry exuded confidence, but as soon as Aerodactyl noticed Weavile leaping towards him, he seemed to let up, clearly startled. As the two Pokemon approached each other, Weavile managed to slip past Aerodactyl's claw, slashing across his jaw with the Metal Claw attack. Aerodactyl screeched in pain, head rearing back from the strike.

Sasha wasn't done, though, clearly ready to take advantage of her opportunity. "Now, use Ice Beam, and then follow it up with another Metal Claw!"

"Vile!" Weavile answered quickly, inhaling as Aerodactyl attempted to right himself in midair. He was too late, though, as just as he managed to do so, Weavile unleashed its beam of blue, icy energy, that struck Aerodactyl hard in the chest. He screeched in pain, the attack sending him spiralling down towards the ground, as Weavile, followed, claw glowing white as he pulled it back, and then thrust forward with another attack. It struck hard along Aerodactyl's body, sending him speeding faster towards the ground, where he crashed, a large dust cloud shooting up around him, while Weavile landed softly and backed up, ready to attack again, already sensing victory.

"Aerodactyl, Flamethrower straight ahead!" Trevor called out quickly, seemingly out of desperation. Clemont tensed up, not sure if Aerodactyl would be able to respond quick enough, but then, just as it looked liked Sasha was about to order an attack, the crowd cheered as a bright light could be seen with the dust drifting away from Aerodactyl, and then, a moment later, the Fossil Pokemon unleashed a massive jet of flames, that rushed towards a stunned Weavile.

"Weaviiile!" Weavile shouted in pain, as the flames struck it in the middle of the chest, sending it flying backwards, before it crashed hard into the ground, body smoking from the attack.

"Ancient Power!" Trevor shouted, clearly sensing an opportunity to land another attack. Clemont and his friends cheered as Aerodactyl flapped his wings and quickly shot into the air, hovering above where Weavile was still struggling to stand. With a loud screech, stones began to rise up from the ground, circling around Aerodactyl, a blue aura surrounding them. With one more screech, Aerodactyl flapped his wings, and the large stones flew straight towards Weavile, just as it managed to rise to its feet.

"Use Protect!" Sasha ordered immediately, as Weavile braced itself for impact. The Sharp Claw Pokemon nodded quickly, folding its arms in front of itself, a turquoise barrier shooting up in front of it just in time. The large stones struck with full force, crashing hard against the barrier, even seemingly causing Weavile to slide back a few inches. However, it wasn't enough, and as the barrage of stones from Ancient Power stopped, the barrier dropped, leaving Weavile unharmed.

Trevor was quick to act, though, not ready to let one failed attack stop him. Clemont could tell that he was desperate to not let another attack strike him like before, relying on Aerodactyl's determination and speed to land as many quick attacks as possible. "Aerodactyl, use Giga Impact! Full power!"

Clemont smiled, looking at the shocked Sasha, seeing that she knew she was backed into a corner with this one. Protect likely wouldn't work a second time, so she'd have to meet this attack head on, with Aerodactyl already screeching loudly, the bright yellow and orange light already surrounding his body.

"Weavile, use Metal Claw!" Sasha shouted, apparently deciding dodging wasn't an option.

It wasn't good enough, though, as Aerodactyl screeched loudly and dove down towards Weavile, who quickly held up two glowing white claws to defend itself. Many students in the crowd gasped as Aerodactyl struck Weavile with full force, dust shooting up from the force of the impacting Pokemon. Weavile managed to hold him back for a moment, but Giga Impact was just strong enough to power through the Sharp Claw Pokemon's defences. With a yell of pain, Weavile was sent flying back, crashing into the ground in front of its trainer. Sasha looked surprisingly happy, though, almost as though she'd hoped for this.

"Now, finish this with Counter!" she suddenly yelled. Clemont's eyes widened at that, and he quickly looked towards a panting Aerodactyl.

"Aerodactyl can't move!" Clemont said nervously, seeing Weavile straighten up quickly, looking a little tired, but still ready to battle. "When that Counter attack hits..."

Nobody needed to finish Clemont's sentence, watching on in frustration as Weavile ran towards the very still Aerodactyl. It pulled back a fist, just as it leaped up in front of the Fossil Pokemon, and then it lashed out, striking Aerodactyl in the jaw, causing him to roar in pain as his body was thrown backwards.

As Aerodactyl's body flew through the air, Clemont could see that it was over. The Fossil Pokemon was barely moving, the force of Counter being twice that of his own Giga Impact attack. As Sasha ordered one last Ice Beam, and it struck the falling Aerodactyl, Clemont knew that he was going to need to put everything he had into his next battle. If he didn't, Lumiose University would lose another match.

* * *

"I'm sorry, guys, I let you down...I really thought I was going to win towards the end." Trevor could barely look at his friends as he sat down next to Ash, in the spot Clemont had been sitting in. Ash could see the disappointment in Trevor's eyes. "I thought this was a chance to prove that I belonged on the team."

"You've already proved that," Ash said, shaking his head at Trevor's comment. "You didn't lose a single battle at the tryouts, and you did really well in this battle, too. That first Ice Beam and Metal Claw combination that Sasha used would've taken out most Pokemon, but you and Aerodactyl nearly beat her after that."

Trevor sighed, looking out towards where Clemont was preparing for his battle, and then towards Laverre's trainer, the big trainer, named Dean, who looked as though he wanted to fight himself, rather than with his Pokemon. "I just don't like that I put you and Clemont into a rough position. Now we're already in a tough spot."

"We can come back no matter what," Ash said confidently, looking out towards the battlefield as well. And I'm sure Clemont's got a plan to win this thing. I'm not going to lose, either. Greninja and I have worked too hard to lose this one, right Pikachu?" he asked, glancing up towards the electric mouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu answered, nodding and giving a little fist pump to show his confidence. Ash knew that his loyal partner probably would've liked to be in this battle himself, but was happy that Pikachu seemed to understand why he was using Greninja. They needed this after their Kalos League loss.

After a couple more minutes of waiting around, Professor Sycamore once again approached the centre of the battlefield to get everyone's attention. "All right, everyone, it's time to begin the second battle between Laverre University and Lumiose University!" The crowd cheered excitedly at this, clearly still holding hope, as many of the students knew that Clemont was a fairly successful Gym Leader. "With Laverre University winning the first battle, it's up to Clemont to get Lumiose University back on track. This should be a good match. Good luck to both trainers!"

As Sycamore made his way to his seat, Ash could see the referee making his way forward, raising his arms up as he called out the rules of the battle to both Dean and Clemont. As both trainers signalled that they understood, the referee called for them to release their Pokemon, causing the crowd to go very quiet, excitedly watching for who each trainer would choose.

"All right, Bunnelby, let's go!" Clemont shouted first, throwing out his pokeball and releasing the Digging Pokemon. Ash was surprised that Clemont wasn't going with Luxray, but supposed the inventor was going for a similar strategy to Trevor, in trying to throw off his opponent's plan.

Dean didn't seem concerned at all, though. In fact, Ash was sure that the hulking trainer looked like he was amused by the choice. "This should be good," he called out, laughing as he held up his pokeball. "Diggersby, time to battle!" he shouted, throwing out his pokeball.

The crowd gasped as Diggersby emerged from his pokeball, looking far larger than Bunnelby as he looked towards his pre-evolved counterpart. Diggersby looked somewhat similar to Bunnelby, although he was much larger, with larger ears, a larger midsection and a much angrier looking face. However, as angry as Diggersby looked, Ash could see that Bunnelby was equally determined. Evolution wasn't going to give Diggersby an overwhelming advantage, although it _did_ look quite strong.

Unlike Sasha, Dean was quick to act, ordering his attack right away. "Diggersby, use Hammer Arm! Then use Agility!"

"Diggers diggersby!" Diggersby roared, hitting his chest with his muscular ears and then charging forward towards Bunnelby.

"Counter it with Wild Charge, Bunnelby!" Clemont countered quickly, surprisingly willing to take the Hammer Arm attack head on.

"Bunnel!" Bunnelby answered, straightening up, his body beginning to crackle with electricity, before he too charged forward.

Everyone in the crowd seemed to hold their breath as the two Pokemon charged towards each other, their steps heard as they ran and the crackle of electricity heard as Bunnelby charged. They met with full force at the centre of the battlefield, Bunnelby's whole body straining against Diggersby's glowing, muscular ear. Ash could see that Diggersby was a little surprised by Bunnelby's strength, although the larger Pokemon managed to keep the smaller one back, as though the electricity wasn't doing anything. With one last shove by each Pokemon, each skidded backwards, glaring at one another, waiting for their trainers' orders.

"Use Mud Shot!" both trainers shouted, pointing ahead as they made their orders. Once again, both Pokemon responded quickly, Bunnelby leaping into the air as the three globules of mud formed above his head, while Diggersby stood still, his ears straightening up while his own attack was prepared. At the same moment, both unleashed their attacks, the brown orbs crashing into each other between the two Pokemon, exploding on contact, spraying mud and smoke up into the air.

As Dean ordered another Hammer Arm from Diggersby, and Clemont called for Bunnelby to dodge with Dig, Ash watched on nervously, already feeling uncomfortable with how this match was starting. While Bunnelby was doing well so far, Ash could see that Clemont was having him fight too much on Dean's terms. With Diggersby having the brute strength advantage, Clemont needed to be less direct in his attacks.

Ash winced as he saw Bunnelby just barely emerge from the ground in time to avoid it being shaken by a powerful Hammer Arm. Once again, Clemont had the Digging Pokemon get in close and use Double Slap, managing to land a couple of hits, before Diggersby blocked with his ears and then shoved Bunnelby backwards. "Clemont needs to be more careful," he said quietly, tensing up a bit as he saw Dean order a Double Kick, which Bunnelby was able to barely dodge. "Bunnelby needs to use his speed, and avoid directly fighting Diggersby. If Diggersby is able to land a Hammer Arm or Double Kick attack, it'll do a lot of damage."

"Maybe Clemont's trying to get Dean to overuse Hammer Arm," Trevor suggested, as they watched Bunnelby dart in one more time with Double Slap, but needing to roll away to dodge another Hammer Arm before he could land it. "Diggersby gets slower and slower each time he uses it."

Ash nodded, thinking that it would make sense for Clemont to do that, but as he watched Diggersby and Dean battle, he had a feeling that the Laverre trainer wasn't going to go into a battle without that in mind. He had a plan to deal with the speed disadvantage. Ash was sure of it. He just hoped Clemont would figure it out as well.

"Bunnelby, get underground with Dig!" Clemont shouted next, as Bunnelby leaped backwards, spinning his ears like a drill and launching himself into the ground, dust shooting up as he did so. Diggersby looked around in confusion, clearly trying to pinpoint where Bunnelby would emerge from, clearly hesitant to use Hammer Arm once again, as was his trainer.

"Diggersby, use Agility!" Dean suddenly called out, as the crowd watched the larger Digging Pokemon stare around, waiting for his pre-evolved counterpart to emerge.

 _So that was his plan_ , Ash thought, gritting his teeth as he watched Diggersby begin to jump around, speeding up as he moved. Eventually, he was hopping around so quickly that Ash knew it was going to be difficult for Bunnelby to manage to land a strike from below.

Clemont wasn't going to give up, though, quickly deciding to make his next order. "Bunnelby, jump up and use Mud Shot, and then use Wild Charge!"

"Bunnelby!" Bunnelby shouted immediately, emerging from the ground just behind Diggersby. He immediately shot out three globules of mud that sailed towards Diggersby at full speed, looking like they were sure to hit. However, the larger Digging Pokemon used his speed increase to his advantage, managing to just barely duck underneath the attack. Bunnelby was quick to act on Clemont's next order, though, already engulfed in electricity and running forward with Wild Charge. He leaped forward and slammed his body into Diggersby...and nothing happened. Bunnelby's evolved counterpart stepped back from the impact, but seemed to laugh at the attack having no effect.

"Diggersby is a ground type. Wild Charge won't have any effect," Dean called out to Clemont. "Shouldn't a Gym Leader know that?"

Ash narrowed his eyes, looking between the two trainers. He was wondering why Clemont wouldn't have thought of that as well. It hadn't crossed his mind, but with Clemont being an electric type Gym Leader, it would've made sense for him to have thought about it.

"Now Bunnelby, use Double Slap!" Clemont quickly ordered, Bunnelby's ears glowing white as soon as he heard the order. Quickly, the Digging Pokemon darted in behind Diggersby and then leaped up, slamming both ears hard into his evolved counterpart's back.

"He's using Wild Charge to get in close so that he can attack," Ash realized, smiling as he saw Bunnelby dart away from Diggersby, the larger Pokemon turning around in frustration at being hit like that. Ash still thought it was risky, but it had definitely worked in landing a good attack.

"Diggersby, attack with Mud Shot, now!" Dean ordered, narrowing his eyes as he looked across the field towards Clemont. "Then use Agility!"

"Diggers Diggersby!" Diggersby shouted loudly, straightening his ears, the orbs of mud quickly forming above them, before he swung them forward, surprising Clemont and Bunnelby with how quickly he was able to launch the attack.

"Dodge with Dig!" Clemont ordered, just as Bunnelby lowered himself to the ground in preparation to move.

"Bunnel!" Bunnelby answered, quickly spinning his ears and burrowing underground, just barely avoiding the attack. As soon as Bunnelby was underground, though, Diggersby once again began hopping around, picking up speed as he did so, clearly too fast of a target for Bunnelby to strike once emerging from the ground.

"Diggersby, use Hammer Arm and hit the ground!" Dean ordered, making Ash narrow his eyes. It was similar to a move he'd used with Pikachu and Iron Tail on opponents who used Dig, and he knew it was quite effective, as Bunnelby had nearly found out earlier in the battle.

"Diggersby!" Diggersby roared, his ears glowing white as he leaped high into the air. Ash could see Clemont looking nervous out of the corner of his eye, clearly knowing that Bunnelby wasn't going to get out fast enough this time. Then, a moment later, Diggersby slammed his ears into the ground, shaking it violently, dust shooting up all around him from the impact.

"Beee!" Bunnelby yelled, as the sudden shock wave fired him out of the ground. Ash clenched his fists, seeing that Bunnelby was in midair, in a vulnerable position for another attack.

"Now, finish this off with Hammer Arm!" Dean shouted, clearly knowing he had his chance.

"Diggers diggersby!" Diggersby shouted in glee, ears glowing white once more. He leaped up, getting himself close enough to Bunnelby that his pre-evolved counterpart's eyes widened with fear, knowing what was about to happen. "Diggers!" Diggersby shouted again, slamming down hard with his ears, sending Bunnelby rocketing towards the ground. As Bunnelby struck the ground, the dust starting to settle from the initial impact of Hammer Arm, yet another cloud of dust shot up. As the crowd gasped, many people leaning forward in their seats, desperately trying to see what had happened, Ash already knew.

Once the cloud of dust settled, it was an easy call for the referee to make as he stepped forward, holding his flag up towards Dean and Diggersby. "Bunnelby is unable to battle! This battle goes to Dean, Diggersby, and Laverre University!"

* * *

When Ash woke up in the morning, nothing but his upcoming match for the IPL was on his mind. He'd been thinking about it a lot over the past few weeks, but as soon as he'd opened his eyes on the actual day of the match, the thoughts of it consumed him.

Ever since his loss to Alain at the Kalos League, Ash had trained hard, harder than he'd ever trained before. Every day, whether it had been back in Pallet Town, or here, at the training facilities at Lumiose University. Training had been taking up so much of his time. Ash had been desperate to get his battling skills back to where he knew they could be. He'd been feeling off ever since his loss. He'd struggled against Gary, Dawn and Tierno, Trevor, and he hadn't even felt right in the battles that he'd won during his tryouts.

Ash didn't know what he'd have done without all of his friends. Without Dawn, he may never have come to Lumiose University. Without Clemont, he'd be overworking himself training. And Trevor, Shauna, Tierno and Marie had all been so supportive. And of course, there was Serena. Without her, Ash might've been lost in his disappointment over his loss, but with her, Ash felt far more confident about the future. He felt there was far more to look forward to.

It was still so hard for him to keep that loss from his mind, though. All of his losses continued to eat at him. He felt that he was still lacking so much. He felt that he'd lost a part of himself. He _had_ to win. He, Pikachu, Greninja, and all of his Pokemon. They'd been working so hard. He didn't know how strong Laverre University was, but he was well aware of how they'd done up until now. He knew he and Greninja needed to be ready for this one. After all they'd done, it was time to bring back their true power. They wouldn't be held back again. They _couldn't_ be held back again.

Ash got out of bed, deciding he should get a little bit of last minute training in. As he stood up, Pikachu woke up from the foot of his bed, staring up at his trainer in surprise, seeing him grabbing his clothes, despite it being fairly early in the morning.

"We've still got some work to do, Pikachu," Ash told his loyal partner. "You know how hard Greninja and I have been working to get that form back. I don't want to let that work go to waste. We're going to win this next battle no matter what."

"Pika pikapi?" Pikachu asked, looking somewhat concerned, clearly not liking the idea of a training session so close to the battles beginning.

"I know it seems like it's a bit much," Ash admitted, putting his hat on and reaching for his belt that had his pokeballs on it, "but you know me. I want to win, and I'm gonna work really hard to do it. I'll be careful. I won't overdo it."

A few minutes later, Ash had all of his things ready, and Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder, still not looking overly pleased with the training idea, but obviously not willing to let Ash go with just Greninja and Rowlet. Ash stepped quietly out of his room, hoping not to disturb Clemont, who was likely still asleep in his room. He then made his way to the entrance, and stepped quietly out into the residence hall. Once he was out, he quickly made his way through the hall and towards the elevator, desperate to get moving so that he could make it back to have breakfast with his friends before the battles started up later.

When Ash finally got out of the Greninja building and began making his way out towards where the training facilities were, he glanced around, noticing that not too many people were out. The sky was still a bit dark, so it made sense. Ash looked up awkwardly at Pikachu as he realized just how early it was. "Sorry, buddy, maybe I'm going a bit crazy with this."

Pikachu just smiled back, though, obviously deciding that since they were up, they might as well just go ahead with the training. "Pika pikachu," he said, looking ahead as they continued to walk. Then, he seemed to notice something, as his ears perked up immediately and he leaned forward. "Pika?"

"What is it?" Ash asked, following Pikachu's gaze. As he looked ahead, Ash caught the sight of purple hair, a bandana, and, even though it was dark out, sunglasses. "It's Anton," he whispered, looking up at Pikachu in surprise. "Do you think he's going to train as well?"

Pikachu just shrugged, still looking curiously towards Anton, who just seemed to be walking absentmindedly, not really focused on where he was going. Ash wasn't sure whether or not the Laverre student noticed him, but decided that it made no sense to ignore one another, and made his way forward, making sure he was in view.

For a moment, Anton looked like he wasn't even looking at Ash, and hadn't even noticed him, not even reacting as Ash walked towards him. However, once they were within a few feet of each other, the purple-haired trainer stopped, tilting his sunglasses down as he looked at Ash. "You're up early," he said quietly, eyes going between Pikachu and Ash. "Nervous about your battle?"

"Of course not," Ash said quickly, narrowing his eyes. He wanted to be friendly, but since his initial meeting with Anton, it wasn't so easy. He did his best to shake that off, though, and smiled at his newest rival. "We were just heading over to do some last minute training. Greninja and I wanted to work on a couple of things."

"I heard that your Greninja is unique," Anton said quietly, looking up at the sky, sounding somewhat bored as he spoke. "I don't follow Pokemon Leagues, so I can't know what that means, but I hope your lack of preparation isn't a sign that it's all just talk."

Ash did his best to stop himself from giving an angry retort. He was well prepared, and he was sure Anton knew he would be. He was curious about what Anton had said about not following Pokemon Leagues, though. If that was true, there was no way he'd be as prepared for Ash's battling as the other Laverre students seemed to be for Ash's friends. "You're not interested in Pokemon Leagues."

"No, I'm not. I've got better things to do. Laverre University keeps me sharp, but once I'm done there, I'll be prepared to battle the Champion. Winning the IPL will give me that chance. I don't need to waste my time with Gym Leaders." Anton's eyebrows raised up at that last point, and Ash knew he was taking a shot at Clemont.

"You've got no idea what an adventure is like, then," Ash told Anton, narrowing his eyes, feeling Pikachu tensing up on his shoulder. "I wouldn't be nearly as close with my Pokemon as I am now without going on my badge quests."

"And where has that taken you?" Anton asked, rubbing the bandana that hung from his neck. "Your path has taken you nowhere. I've made sure that when I battle the best, I'll be ready, and I refuse to waste my time on a journey, when I can be training, and making sure that my Pokemon are ready for their toughest challenge. I don't let things get in my way, like you and your friends. I think you're realizing that, Ketchum, otherwise you wouldn't be at Lumiose University."

"Being here might not be like a regular journey, but it's still a new challenge," Ash argued, clenching his fists. "And I've made a lot of friends here, and they've supported me and have already helped me get better."

Anton shook his head, turning away, clearly deciding that he'd already had enough of talking with Ash. "I don't think you believe yourself. If they were helping you, you wouldn't be trying to train right before your next battle. If they weren't in your way, you would already be prepared." He then started walking away, stopping once more after he was a few feet away. "Don't make our battle a waste of time, Ketchum."

* * *

"Do you think Ash is okay?" Serena asked, watching as the raven-haired trainer approached his side of the battlefield, Pikachu perched on his shoulder, looking around at the crowd. "He looks a little bit tense, doesn't he?"

"Well, with the start we've had, I don't blame him," Dawn said sadly, sighing as she looked up at the scoreboard, which showed the standings for both the Performance and Battle divisions. It had just been updated with the points from the Shalour College and Coumarine College matchup, where Shalour had managed a sweep. Currently, the standings were:

 _1st Place: Shalour College (3pts)_

 _2nd Place: Laverre University (2pts)_

 _T-3rd Place: Lumiose University (0pts)_

 _T-3rd Place: Coumarine College (0pts)_

Serena nodded, also looking up at the scoreboard. It felt a little better knowing that their school wasn't the only one to be struggling, but considering they'd be in third and fourth place at best by the end of Ash's battle was definitely not the most encouraging of thoughts. Especially since they still didn't know just how strong Anton was, and with him being Laverre's Captain, Ash would probably have his hands full.

"Ash was super super strong at the Kalos League," Bonnie suddenly said, apparently having heard Serena and Dawn speaking. She leaned over past Shauna, looking excitedly at them. "Greninja was really strong. He had a huge Water Shuriken on his back and he even kind of looked like Ash.

Serena smiled, remembering the amazement of everyone in the crowd when Greninja had first shown his special form in Ash's first match. Serena hadn't seen much in the world of Mega Evolution up until the Kalos League, and while Greninja's special form was something slightly different, she could tell it could compete with the powerful Pokemon that could mega evolve.

"I hope he can get the form to work today," Shauna said, looking nervously towards Anton, who stood at his side of the battlefield looking pretty bored, fiddling with his bandana absentmindedly. "I have a feeling Anton's probably going to be a tough opponent, even for Greninja."

"Ash can handle it. We all know how hard he's worked with Greninja," Serena pointed out, looking once again towards Ash. "He won't give up until it's over."

At that moment, they noticed Professor Sycamore approaching the centre of the battlefield once more, to introduce the final two battlers to the crowd. Serena could see a hint of disappointment on his face with how things had gone so far, but he managed to smile as he congratulated Laverre University on their two wins so far. He seemed to become more excited as he looked between the two competing trainers.

"And now for our final match of the weekend," Sycamore said, gesturing to Anton, and then Ash. "We've got the two captains for each school. Anton, representing Laverre University, and Ash, representing our own Lumiose University! Both of these trainers have been very successful in their respective careers. Most recently, Ash has made it to the final round of the Kalos League, while Anton has led Laverre University to the final four in the Battle Division in two straight years, even getting to the finals last year."

Serena bit her lip nervously upon hearing that. She knew Laverre had done well last year, but didn't know Anton had been leading them even before that. She still had faith in Ash, though. As Professor Sycamore had said, Ash had been quite successful as well.

As Sycamore finished up and then made his way back to his seat, Serena looked towards Ash, seeing him pulling out his pokeball, Pikachu looking up confidently from his spot at his trainer's side. _You can do this, Ash. Don't give up till it's over._ She then glanced over to Anton, who'd already taken out his own pokeball, looking over to the referre, clearly ready to start the battle.

The referee then stepped forward, raising his arms and looking towards both trainers. "As with the other battles, this will be a one on one battle between Anton, of Laverre University, and Ash, of Lumiose University. Once one Pokemon is unable to battle, the other trainer will be declared the winner. Do you agree?" Both Ash and Anton nodded, and then the referee waved his arms down. "Then let the battle begin!"

Immediately, Anton threw his pokeball forward, clearly impatient and ready to start the battle. "Scizor, you're up!" he yelled, the pokeball flashing as it opened, revealing the Pincer Pokemon, who flew up, his body glowing bright red in the sunlight that shone down above the stadium. He hovered in the air as he watched Ash down below, ready to see who his opponent would be.

"A Scizor, huh?" Ash called out, smiling as he looked up at his opponent's Pokemon. "All right, well let's see what it can do against us. Greninja, I choose you!" he shouted, throwing his pokeball forward. Again, a bright flash of light lit up the battlefield, and a moment later, Greninja emerged, flipping through the air, before landing softly on the ground in front of Ash.

"Here we go," Dawn whispered, sounding pretty nervous. "This one should be good."

For what seemed like a full minute, although it may have been just a few seconds, Ash and Anton did nothing. Greninja and Scizor just glared silently at one another, both of them clearly sensing the importance of this match. Greninja clearly knew how badly his trainer, and his trainer's friends, needed him to win, and even though Anton didn't show it, Scizor did, and clearly wanted this victory for his trainer as well.

Finally, Ash decided to make the first move. "Greninja, start things of with Cut!"

"Counter with Bullet Punch!" Anton shouted quickly, not wasting any time in ordering his counterattack.

"Gren!"

"Scizor!"

Serena was stunned at how quickly both Pokemon moved, easily seeing the difference between them, and the other four Pokemon who had battled earlier that day. Within seconds, Greninja had his webbed hand at his hip, pulled out the white blade of light, and leaped up towards Scizor. As Greninja moved, Scizor pulled back a closed pincer, which immediately began glowing in a bright, white light, before launching himself down to meet his opponent. As soon as they were within reach of each other, each Pokemon lashed out with their attacks, Scizor's Bullet Punch and Greninja's Cut attack clashing with full force. The air seemed to shake from the impact and both Pokemon were thrown backwards, both looking stunned by the power emitted from their attacks. Greninja landed hard, sliding along the ground before quickly rising to his feet in front of Ash, while Scizor landed with a thud, before jumping up, flipping over, and standing straight in front of Anton.

"Don't let up, Greninja! Water Shuriken, let's go!" Ash yelled, clenching his fists at his sides as he made the order, just as Greninja seemed to be doing.

"Ninja!" Greninja answered, quickly putting his webbed hands at his hip, water forming quickly, Ash mimicking his movements. A moment later, Greninja leaped high into the air, pulling back with one arm and then launching his attack down towards Scizor, the watery ninja star spinning rapidly towards the Pincer Pokemon.

"Dodge with Agility!" Anton quickly ordered, Scizor immediately responding by seemingly disappearing, just as the Water Shuriken was about to hit, the ground where he'd been standing being struck hard by the attack, dust and water shooting up from the impact. Scizor then seemed to be doing a dance, in midair, shooting around the battlefield as he seemed to disappear and reappear all over it, Greninja staring around in surprise, clearly unsure of where his opponent was going to stop.

Serena felt her heart racing, wondering how Ash would be able to deal with Scizor's speed, but luckily, Ash didn't panic. "Greninja, use Double Team! Don't let Scizor confuse you!"

Greninja nodded quickly, looking up and following Scizor's movements for a moment, before breaking out into a run. A moment later, as Greninja ran, a copy of him emerged behind him, then another, and another, before suddenly, a couple dozen copies were running in a circle around the battlefield, each looking up towards Scizor, who continuously darted through the air.

"Find the real one. Use Fury Cutter!" Anton shouted, looking around the battlefield, trying to pinpoint where Greninja might be.

As Scizor darted down, his pincer appearing to extend and sharpen, glowing bright red, Serena looked worriedly towards Ash, wondering if Greninja had been spotted. However, Ash didn't seem too concerned, even as Scizor slashed one of the Greninja copies, before darting across the field and striking another.

Suddenly, Scizor's eyes seemed to lock onto a specific area and he darted forward, heading towards the centre of the battlefield. He pulled back his pincer, looking triumphant as he slashed down towards a startled looking Greninja copy.

"Aerial Ace, now!" Ash shouted, just as Scizor's attack struck, passing through yet another copy. Serena's eyes widened as the copies began disappearing, wondering just where Greninja could be. Then, not even a second later, a blue blur shot out behind a surprised Scizor, before jumping up and lashing out with a glowing white leg. The Pincer Pokemon staggered back, stunned by the strike, which hit just across his chest, before he was sent flying to the ground, by a second swift kick. Scizor's body crashed hard into the ground, dust shooting up all around him. He quickly got up, though, standing up in the newly formed crater, glaring at Greninja, as the Ninja Pokemon landed softly a few feet away.

"Enough of this, Scizor!" Anton yelled, causing many people in the crowd to look at him in surprise. "Maybe we'll show this Greninja some true power." Serena narrowed her eyes, wondering just what Anton could be talking about. Then, her eyes widened as he pulled up the bandana around his neck.

"It's a Key Stone!" Trevor almost shouted. "That means..."

"Scizor, show your true power! Show _our_ true power! Mega evolve!" Anton shouted loudly, grabbing the bandana from his neck and holding it up, the Key Stone beginning to glow brightly. Serena's eyes then went to Scizor, who held up one of his pincers, opening it wide, something shiny glowing within it.

"Scizorite..." Serena could hear a few people whispering behind her. "They're mega evolving."

Suddenly, the battlefield seemed to be glowing, causing many in the crowd to shield their eyes or squint as bright lights extended out from both Anton's Key Stone, and Scizor's Scizorite. As the two lights met between Pokemon and trainer, Serena could just barely see Scizor's body glowing brightly as well, as his form began to change. As the lights finally dimmed, Serena gasped at the sight of Scizor's new form.

Scizor looked far more intimidating. His pincers were far larger, looking almost like a Tyrantrum's jaws as they opened and closed, the jagged edges looking like teeth. Scizor also seemed to have black armour over his face, shoulders and midsection, while his the wings on his back seemed to have extended and straightened out.

"Looks like Anton had a secret weapon, just in case Greninja was a little stronger than he thought," Dawn muttered, sounding somewhat frustrated.

"Ash has a secret weapon as well," Serena pointed out, looking over towards the raven-haired trainer, who did seem to be a little surprised by Anton's little surprise.

"Scizor, show off your true strength. Bullet Punch!" Anton ordered, sounding quite confident as he made the order, clearly expecting to have the advantage now.

And it appeared he was right, as Scizor quickly spread his arms out wide, embracing his power increase, before looking straight ahead towards Greninja, and launching himself forward. Greninja tried to jump back, but Scizor was far too quick, pulling his enlarged, closed and glowing pincer back and slamming it hard into the Ninja Pokemon's chest.

"Greninja!" Ash shouted in concern, many people in the crowd echoing him, clearly worried about the the direction this battle seemed to be going in. Greninja went flying through the air before crashing hard into the ground and sliding a few feet before coming to a stop in front of Ash. He lay still for a moment, breathing hard after the strike, but managed to slowly rise to his feet after a moment, breathing hard.

"This isn't good," Serena whispered, looking between Ash and Greninja, seeing the nervous look on Ash's face as he watched Greninja stand up. _Come on, Ash, don't give up._

It was almost like Ash could hear her thoughts, as in that moment, he narrowed his eyes, just as Greninja looked back at him. Serena couldn't help but smile at the look the two of them exchanged, seeing their determination and their belief that they could still win. Over the past couple of weeks, there had been times where Ash seemed to lose that belief, as he'd struggled to train for the IPL, but in that brief moment, Serena could see it taking over, his body language showing it, as he and Greninja straightened up, both looking ahead to their opponents.

"All right, Greninja, how about we show _our_ true power?" Ash called out, the crowd going quiet at the sound of his call. He raised a fist in front of his face, just as Greninja did, smiling ahead at a somewhat confused looking Anton. "We'll get much, much stronger!" he yelled, as Greninja shouted as well, both of them pulling their fists down, and looking up to the sky, an incoherent yell coming from them both.

Serena had seen it at the Kalos League, but even now, the sight stunned her. A veil of water suddenly engulfed Greninja's body, quickly rising up, vibrating wildly, becoming a massive torrent of water that stretched into the sky. Greninja's body glowed brightly within the water, a red light shining from his head, a blue glow coming from his back. Finally, with another incoherent yell from both Greninja and Ash, the torrent of water exploded, showering the field with water, causing both Anton and Scizor to shield their eyes from the spray, before looking up, completely stunned by what was in front of them.

"This battle just got a much better rhythm!" Tierno shouted excitedly, now on his feet, along with many people in the crowd as they looked at Greninja.

"It's Ash-Greninja!" Bonnie shouted excitedly. "Just like at the Kalos League!"

Serena laughed, eyes lighting up with excitement as she looked at Ash, seeing the confidence in his eyes as he looked at Greninja. Serena could see why Bonnie had called it Ash-Greninja, as Greninja definitely looked a lot like Ash, with the red fin looking like his hat, and the black fins at the sides matching his hair. Even his blue skin was much like Ash's jacket. As he stretched out, relishing being in his special form, Ash moved in sync with him, adding to the effect even more. _Tierno's right. This battle definitely did just get a much better rhythm._

"So this is what makes your Greninja so special?" Anton asked, looking suspiciously at his powered up opponent. "Well, it doesn't matter. Scizor is still far stronger."

"We'll see about that!" Ash said confidently. "Greninja, use Cut!"

"Bullet Punch!" Anton countered quickly.

Once again, just as they'd started the battle earlier, both Pokemon rushed towards each other. Somehow, though, they managed to reach each other even faster. Serena could barely keep up as they kicked off from their spots in front of their trainers, Greninja pulling a crystallized, glowing sword from his hip, while Scizor's oversized pincer glowed in a bright white light. They met at the centre of the battlefield and struck one another with full force, pincer meeting sword with another shock wave of energy that shook the battlefield, and the rest of the arena. Serena winced at the rush of wind that passed her, even having to grab onto her hat to ensure it didn't fly away. She could even see Pikachu struggling to stay upright from his spot next to Ash, having to grab onto his leg.

Neither Pokemon was letting the impact push them back this time, though, as they each managed to hold their ground. Greninja immediately put his free webbed hand to his hip, revealing a second crystallized sword and striking upwards with it, just as Scizor lashed out with his second pincer, also glowing white. Suddenly, it was a rapid exchange of blows, both Pokemon lashing out with their attacks with everything they had, becoming a blur of blue and red as they desperately tried to land their attacks, each clash of Bullet Punch and Cut causing the arena to shake from the power emanating from the powered up Pokemon.

Finally, after one last exchange, both Scizor and Greninja leaped back, breathing heavily as they landed in front of their trainers, both clearly needing a breather from the exchange of blows. Serena couldn't blame them. It was kind of tiring just watching them. She cast a nervous glance over at Ash, seeing him panting as well, jaw clenched as he looked ahead towards Scizor. He looked a little frustrated, but Serena was sure he still had it in him. He and Greninja could do it.

"Greninja, Double Team, let's go!" Ash yelled, thrusting an arm forward as he made the order.

"Gren!" Greninja shouted in answer, jumping high into the air, as copies suddenly started shooting up all around him. There were far more than last time. There were dozens of them. Some remained on the ground, while others emerged in midair, all of them surrounding Scizor, who looked around quickly, clearly trying to pinpoint the location of the real one.

"Use Agility! Build up your speed!" Anton shouted, as he too scanned the field of Greninjas, apparently deciding he couldn't attack them head on like the last time. At least not yet. Serena was sure he had a plan that didn't just involve increasing Scizor's speed.

"Zor!" Scizor answered, darting into the air, before suddenly disappearing and reappearing a few feet away. Within seconds, he was making his way around the field, zigzagging as he disappeared and reappeared over and over again, somehow going faster and faster each time, until he was just a red blur darting around the field.

"Now, Fury Cutter! Destroy every copy until you find the real Greninja!" Anton ordered, sounding frustrated, almost as though he felt like this battle should've been over a long time ago.

"Scizor!" Scizor shouted, quickly darting forward and striking a Greninja copy with a bright, glowing red pincer. Within seconds, he'd slashed down a few more, quickly making his way towards the centre of the group, apparently deciding that was where Greninja was most likely hiding.

"Greninja, use Aerial Ace, now!" Ash yelled, as Scizor lashed out at another Greninja copy, destroying it immediately. Suddenly, the copies quickly began disappearing, and before Scizor could destroy another, it vanished right in front of him, leaving only one more, which quickly appeared behind the Pincer Pokemon.

"Gren!" Greninja shouted loudly, his fist glowing white as he lashed out, striking the turning Scizor in the jaw, causing him to stagger back. However, Anton was clearly prepared for this.

"Bullet Punch!" he ordered, as Scizor quickly righted himself and charged forward, his oversized pincer glowing white, just as Greninja spun around, preparing a kick with his glowing white leg. The two attacks struck hard against one another, once again shaking the stadium with the force of the impact. However, Scizor was quick to recover, pulling his other pincer back, and thrusting it forward, driving it right into Greninja's chest. Serena's eyes widened and she looked over to see Ash gasping in pain as he too felt the attack, a moment before Greninja crashed to the ground in front of him, causing him to drop to his knees from the impact.

"Ash!" she shouted in concern, her cry echoed by a few others in the crowd, including her friends. Luckily, Ash quickly got to his feet, though, grimacing in pain, but clearly willing to continue, as Greninja got to his feet as well.

Ash and Greninja quickly exchanged a look, nodding as they silently agreed on some kind of plan for the next stage of the battle. Serena couldn't help but feel worried, though, seeing the two of them breathing quite heavily, especially Ash. After being unable to use this form for so long, it seemed like Ash was struggling a bit to keep up. He needed to end this quickly. Otherwise...

"Greninja, Water Shuriken! Straight ahead!" Ash yelled, putting his own hands behind his back as he made the order, mimicking Greninja's movements. Greninja suddenly plucked the enlarged Water Shuriken from his back, spinning it over his head as he prepared to throw it, staring up towards Scizor, who hovered midair. "Go!" Ash yelled, throwing his invisible shuriken, while Greninja threw the real one. The watery ninja star sailed towards Scizor at full speed whipping through the air so fast that Serena could barely follow it. Scizor could barely react, even with his increased speed, and the attack struck him with full force, water spraying out as the attack struck him, while he spun through the air, struggling to right himself, and only just barely able to do so before landing roughly on the ground in front of Anton.

"We have to watch out for that Water Shuriken," Anton called out to Scizor. "Now, use your speed, and let's get this wrapped up. Bullet Punch!"

"Cut!" Ash countered quickly, him and Greninja putting their hands to their hips as Scizor charged forward, his pincers glowing white. Greninja just barely put his two crystallized blades in front of him in time, as Scizor's two pincers crashed into him. The Ninja Pokemon strained against his opponent, holding the blades in front of his body, desperately trying to push forward, while his trainer mimicked his actions from behind, face scrunched up from the effort.

"Now, use Vacuum Wave!" Anton yelled, sounding extremely confident as he made the order. Serena could see a smile on his face. He clearly knew he had Greninja trapped.

"Zor!" Scizor shouted loudly, as suddenly his pincers began to shake violently against Greninja's blades, causing the Ninja Pokemon to wince from the effort to hold his barrier. It wasn't good enough, though, as suddenly, it was too much. Scizor's pincers began to shake even more, suddenly thrusting outward, causing Greninja to stagger back as his blades were thrown from his hands and he fell back, barely dodging one of the pincers. Then, the pincers began to whirl around in circles, wind swirling around them, causing dust to shoot up in what looked like mini tornadoes in front of Scizor. With a loud shout, Scizor spun around, thrusting out with his pincers, sending a gust of wind towards Greninja. It struck with full force, sending the Ninja Pokemon flying back, so far back that he barely missed Ash, landing hard on the ground behind his trainer, as Ash dropped to his knees, gasping for air and clutching his chest.

"Oh no..." Serena whispered, seeing Ash wincing in pain, as he and Greninja both struggled to stand. She noticed Scizor fly up into the air, backing up so that he hovered in front of his trainer, ready for either his next order, or Greninja's counterattack. "Ash..."

"We can't give up, Greninja," Ash called out suddenly, raising his head up and looking up towards Scizor. He sounded exhausted, and Serena could see him breathing heavily, but he looked so determined. He so desperately wanted to win this. He wanted to prove that he and Greninja were back to where they should be.

"Gren!" Greninja answered, managing to get to a knee, and then straightening up just as his trainer did as well. He too was clearly desperate to show that they were still strong. To show that they were strong enough to beat any of their opponents, no matter what kind of power they had.

"We'll give them...everything we have! Start this off...with Double Team!" Ash yelled, wincing and holding his chest, breathing heavily as he made the order. "Go!"

"Ninja!" Greninja shouted, leaping forward, high over top of Ash, copies appearing around him as he leaped through the air. Serena glanced over to Anton and Scizor, seeing them both looking up, but apparently deciding to wait, rather than attack right away again.

Serena then looked back to Ash and Greninja, stunned as she saw more and more copies appearing around the two, each straightening out, the water shurikens on their backs glowing brightly and shining in the sunlight. She looked at Ash, seeing him taking a few deep breaths before narrowing his eyes and moving his hand to his back. "Ready, Greninja? All we have! Water Shuriken!"

"Gren!" all the Greninja copies seemed to shout at once, all bringing their webbed hands to their backs and pulling the Water Shuriken off, raising it high above their heads, as Ash raised his own hand above his.

"Scizor, get ready!" Anton shouted. "Counter with Vacuum Wave as soon as you get the chance!"

Serena knew it wasn't going to do him any good, though, smiling as she saw the Greninja copies all spinning their shurikens above their heads. Suddenly, the copies began to move, all converging onto a single point, up in the air, right above where Ash was standing. Serena could see one shuriken glowing brighter than the rest, spinning rapidly and growing larger as the copies began to rush towards the true Greninja.

"Ready, Greninja?" Ash yelled, holding his hand as high as he could get it. "Everything...we...have! Let's...go!" Then, finally, through his heavy breathing, Ash gave another yell, as Greninja yelled loudly as well, the Water Shuriken suddenly expanding and spinning rapidly, and glowing in a bright, yellow and orange light. It lit up the sky, almost like a second Sun. Greninja held it up high above his head, ready to throw it forward, knowing that there was know way Scizor could match his power.

Then it stopped.

For a moment, the crowd just stared in shock as the glowing shuriken stopped spinning. Then, everyone gave a collective gasp as it seemed to collapse, dissolving in midair above Greninja. Serena stared at Greninja with wide eyes, having no idea what was happening. She could see the shock on his face, as he looked up. It didn't take too long to figure it out, though, as a cry could be heard near Ash.

"Pikapi!"

"It's Ash!" Dawn suddenly shouted from next to Serena.

Serena's eyes quickly followed the Coordinator's gaze, widening as she saw Ash, her friend falling to the ground with his eyes closed. A moment later, Greninja dropped to the ground in front of him as well, body glowing briefly before he reverted back to his original form.

"Ash!" Serena yelled, jumping up from her seat, her friends quickly following her as she ran towards him.

 **Author's Note:**

"Oh my god! Another loss! So stupid! It's Snivy all over again! Blah blah blah!"

To that I say...um...no. There's a lot I want to say on this, and I'll probably forget some of it, but let me give it a go. Okay...so yes, everyone lost. Each character lost. They lost to people that don't exist in the anime. New characters, that you've never seen before. However, does that mean that this is like Ash losing to a Snivy in BW. Absolutely...NOT! These OCs are NOT beginners. And these losses MEAN something. For EACH character. Did I need to show each and every loss in the detail that I did? Maybe not. However, I decided to, because I think it'll make what happens with them later on far more interesting. Now, I'm going to give a little explanation for each loss and what I've tried to convey that each character is learning from these losses.

I don't know if these next few things are spoilers, so if this mini explanation is unimportant to you, don't bother.

Shauna: I've made Shauna a bit of a..."ditzy" character. Slightly out of character at some points...a lot at some points, but not too bad I hope. She's focusing too much on other things and getting involved in Serena's personal life, and getting excited by the new school atmosphere, that she's not training as hard as the others. She's kind of lost her way with the performing. She also lacks a bit of confidence, seeing Serena as the far superior performer. Her loss is meant to inspire her to train a bit harder and be a little more confident.

Serena: A little more obvious. Serena likes to perform to make people smile. Gabby sees it as a job, a career. Something where you win at all costs. Serena falls for the dirty trick and sees Gabby effortlessly going through the performance, manipulating Serena's own act as she goes along. Serena doubts her own beliefs about performing, thinking she's doing the wrong thing.

Tierno: Tierno's a battler turned Coordinator. He tries to get his team back on track by beating his opponent in the same way he beat Dawn at the tryouts. Brute strength. Jimmy was prepared for this, knowing Tierno was a battler before. Tierno falls into the trap of attacking head on and forgetting about the main point of contests, even losing his own style in the process.

Dawn: Dawn's been struggling since the start. She's feeling down about contests after feeling like she's made little progress in a long journey and a successful start in Sinnoh. She showed signs in barely winning her screening battle, and then losing to Tierno in the tryouts. I'm trying to make her more of a leader in this story. She cheers up Serena, but puts it on herself to get Lumiose University back on track. The pressure, along with her earlier struggles, gets to her, and once she falls behind, it's too much for her to get back into the match. Also, Casey is no beginner.

Trevor: Trevor feels like an outcast in his group of successful friends. He wasn't even supposed to be in the advanced classes! He's managed to get on the team, and after seeing Laverre manipulate the Performance Team, he tries going with a different Pokemon, but weaker one, then he would normally use (Charizard). Aerodactyl and Trevor put up a good fight, but that slight lack of confidence is what does him in.

Clemont: Clemont thinks he's got the brains in this match, but once again, Laverre shows to be well prepared. Diggersby uses the combination of Agility and Hammer Arm to outspeed and overpower Bunnelby. Clemont tries the unconventional strategy of Wild Charge on a ground type, showing he's learning a little from Ash, but ultimately, he needs to do more to beat a trainer who thinks two steps ahead.

Ash: Ash has been going all out in training for the IPL, doing everything he can to get Ash-Greninja back. However, he might be working a little _too_ hard. Perhaps a little bit of manipulation by Anton is messing with his head as well. Also, not being used to the form after losing it for so long, he can't keep up in the crucial moment. He needs to reevaluate and then move forward. I'll be a little more vague with this one since it's of particular importance.

I know OCs are frustrating sometimes, when they can beat these already established characters out of the blue. But I'm not changing what I've got planned, just because of a bit of frustration over losses. In fact, I'm glad you feel the same way these characters are feeling. The losses are supposed to sting, and drive them to get better. If you don't like it, don't read it. All I'm gonna say. See ya next time.


	23. Much Much Stronger

**Author's Note:**

I'm sorry...it took forever to get this out. What has it been? 2 weeks. I'm sure the next one won't take that long. Anyways, I'll say more at the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 23: Much Much Stronger**

 _Charizard refuses to battle! Pikachu is the winner!_

 _Charizard is unable to battle! And Blaziken wins!_

 _Pikachu is unable to battle! Meowth's the winner!_

 _Torkoal's unable to battle and Registeel wins!_

 _Monferno is unable to battle and the winner is Electabuzz!_

 _Pikachu and Latios are both unable to battle! All six of Ash's Pokemon have been eliminated!_

 _Pikachu's unable to battle! Lucario's the winner!_

 _Greninja is unable to battle! Sceptile wins!_

 _Greninja is unable to battle! Avalugg is the winner!_

 _Greninja's unable to battle! Charizard wins! Alain is the Champion!_

Ash winced, hearing, and seeing, each and every call for so many of his major losses. He could hear the sounds of his Pokemon falling, the clear voice of the referees, the triumphant calls of his opponents, the cheers of the crowds and the disappointment of his friends. He could see the pain and disappointment on his Pokemon's faces, the referees waving their arms, the triumphant looks of his opponents, the people in the crowds clapping and cheering and the downcast looks of his friends.

But now, suddenly, he could see nothing. Everything was black, but Ash knew that his eyes were open. Was he blind? Was it just dark wherever he was? And speaking of that, where _was_ he? His heart began to beat rapidly as fear gripped him. Ash could barely remember anything. All he could see was a red shape attacking him with massive... _pincers_?

 _Where am I? Hello?_ he called out, looking around, and blinking, hoping he'd be able to see _something_. He blinked a few more times, continuously looking around, still just seeing nothing but darkness. Ash was just starting to think he had actually gone blind after a few more minutes of wandering aimlessly and still seeing nothing but darkness in around him, but then finally, something flashed briefly up ahead.

For a moment, Ash paused, staring ahead at where he was sure he'd seen the flash of light. It was so brief, that he wondered if he'd imagined it. It had just been a small, white flash of light, almost like a light flickering on and off very briefly. _Hello?_ he called out again, taking a cautious step forward, nervous that he might trip over something at any time. _Is someone there? Can you put that light on again?_

 _Ritchie is the winner!_

 _Harrison is the winner!_

 _Tyson is the winner!_

 _Pyramid King Brandon is the winner!_

 _Paul is the winner!_

 _Tobias is the winner!_

 _Cameron is the winner!_

 _Alain is the Champion!_

Ash winced, hearing the calls of victory for many of his major losses once again. What was going on? Why couldn't he see anything? Why couldn't he get any of these losses out of his head? The last thing he could remember was...

 _Greninja!_

 _Ash, it's okay. Greninja's okay. He's sleeping right here. He's right next to you, along with Pikachu._ Ash narrowed his eyes, looking all around him, despite not being able to see a thing. Who had said that? Where were they? Where was _he_?

Ash felt his heart beating furiously again as he started to panic. He was scared. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know why he couldn't see, he didn't know who was talking to him, he didn't know where his Pokemon were, and overall, he just didn't know what was happening right now. He wanted to run away somehow, but he had no idea how to do it. He had no idea where to go, and even if he did, he couldn't hear anything and he had nobody with him.

Suddenly, he felt a warmth in his hand and a moment later, a light pressure. Ash jumped in fear at the sudden feeling of something holding his hand, but a moment later, he relaxed, somehow knowing that whatever it was, wasn't going to hurt him. He took a deep breath and then blinked a few times, before looking down towards his hand. His eyes widened suddenly as he noticed a light. It was similar to the one before, but this time, it came from his hand.

 _It's okay, Ash. We're all here for you. Greninja's okay._ You're _okay._

It was that voice again. Ash glanced up, smiling as he noticed the darkness around him slipping away somewhat. It was still somewhat difficult to see, but he could make out a few shapes. It looked like there were trees around him. Maybe he was in a forest? He felt another light pressure in his hand that filled him with warmth, and Ash glanced down, noticing the light growing a little brighter.

 _Don't worry, Ash, everything is okay,_ the voice said, bringing a smile to Ash's face. He took a deep breath, looking around once more. He was seeing more and more as everything seemed to be lighting up. It was still slightly dark, but he was starting to see the Sun poking out over the trees in the distance, and a few Pokemon scurrying through the bushes and flying around.

The light coming from Ash's hand grew brighter for a moment, and he glanced down, still feeling the warmth coming from the pressure that he felt there. He watched the light in his hand flash brightly, and then it suddenly flew out of his hand. However, Ash didn't feel upset by it. He still felt the warm pressure in his hand that comforted him, and the light only hovered a few feet in front of him. It was quite bright, lighting up the path in front of him, but it was still only the size of his hand. It seemed to jump up and down in front of him, almost like it was telling him to follow him.

 _Ash, all of your friends are here. Everything is okay_ , that voice said again, and this time, it seemed to be coming from the small light. Ash smiled, nodding at the light, hoping that it could understand the small signal that he understood. He took a few steps forward, feeling lighter, warmer and overall, just happier as he followed the light a few steps.

 _There's no need to worry, Ash._

 _Keep on movin' and groovin'._

 _The future is now thanks to science!_

 _I got some awesome pictures of you and Greninja! I can't wait to show you!_

 _You were great out there, Ash!_

 _Marvellous!_

 _Pikapi!_

Ash smiled wider, feeling stronger as he continued to walk forward, his surroundings becoming clearer and clearer as he followed the light and the voices coming from it. He glanced down once more at his hand, feeling that pressure once again. He could feel his heart beating a little faster, and he had a feeling it had something to do with that pressure, but he ignored it, liking this feeling much more than the one he'd had when he was in the dark.

Ash took another few steps forward, seeing the light in front of him grow a little more, as he heard a few more words of encouragement coming from it. He felt confident as he saw the light come to a stop a few feet in front of him. He stopped as well, wondering for a moment what was happening. The light seemed to still be encouraging him to follow, though, as it seemed to bob up and down, hovering in front of him, with the voices still encouraging Ash to move forward.

As he was about to take a step forward, though, Ash heard something behind him. He tried to ignore it, somehow knowing that it wasn't a good idea to listen to it, but he couldn't resist. Ash turned around, taking his eyes off of the light in front of him, and faced the direction of the noise that he'd heard behind him.

Ash's eyes widened as he looked at what was in front of him. It was a shadowy figure, but Ash could recognize a few features. He could see the bandana around the person's neck, and the area around their eyes was even darker with the sunglasses over them. Ash immediately knew who it was, and took a nervous step back. He took a quick glance over his shoulder, seeing the light drifting a littler further away, and feeling the warmth leave him. There was still that pressure in his hand, but it didn't seem to have the same effect. Ash's heart beat faster, and he could see things around him growing darker once more.

 _You lost, Ketchum,_ the shadowy figure said. _I told you that you would lose. I told you that you've been wasting your time. Our battle was a waste of time._

Ash bit his lip, looking around nervously, wondering where he was again and trying to remember what had happened before he'd ended up here. He took another glance back at the light that had been guiding him away, and noticed that it was even further away now, and things were growing very dark once more. He took a shaky breath, and then glanced at the shadowy figure again, jumping in surprise as he noticed it changing shape.

Now, the person was taller and wearing some kind of scarf around their neck. They had their hand out in front of them, and Ash could see what he knew to be a Mega Ring, around the person's wrist, with the Key Stone poking up at the top. Seeing the Key Stone made Ash feel even more nervous, and he glanced around again, looking for a way to escape, but feeling his feet frozen in place.

 _You're growing soft, Ash. I thought Greninja's power rivalled my Charizard's, but you can't even beat a Scizor. There's no point in a rematch._

Ash's jaw dropped at that, and he clenched his fists, feeling frustrated as he looked at the shadowy figure in front of him. An image suddenly came to his mind, with Greninja and Scizor lashing out at one another, in the midst of a heated battle. He shook his head, feeling the pressure in his hand again, as whatever seemed to be taking hold of it tightened their grip. Another image came to his mind, with Greninja falling in front of a Charizard, his form reverting back to normal.

And suddenly, Ash was back in a stadium, watching as his Charizard refused to battle, causing Ash to lose to his rvial, Ritchie, in the Indigo League. Next, was Charizard fighting valiantly, but then falling to Harrison's Blaziken at the Silver Conference. Then it was Pikachu at the Ever Grande Conference, Torkoal against Brandon and Registeel, Pikachu against Latios, and then Lucario. Then, it was Greninja, falling to Sceptile, Avalugg, Charizard, and then, finally, unable to keep up and failing to unleash their final attack, Ash could see him and Greninja collapsing as the glowing Water Shuriken dissolved in midair.

The scenes seemed to play over and over in front of Ash, and he couldn't seem to move, or look away. And suddenly, it was more than just his biggest losses, it was all of them. He could see Pikachu losing to Brock's Onix in Pewter City. Then there was Pikachu losing to Raichu, Charizard losing to Poliwrath, Pikachu losing to Eevee, Treecko losing to Hariyama, Turtwig and Pikachu losing to Roark's Onix, all of his losses to Paul, all of his losses to Trip, his losses to Alain...

Ash suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, and he fell to his knees, shutting his eyes tight and grabbing at his head. Why did he keep losing like this? Every region, every new challenge...it always ended the same way. He lost because of inexperience, he lost because he was just a little bit weaker, he lost because he underestimated his opponent, he lost because he just didn't train enough.

The image of Anton appeared in his mind once again, with his newest rival holding his Key Stone up in front of him, while Scizor stood to his left, holding his pincer wide open, showing off the Scizorite inside. _Don't waste my time, Ketchum. You're letting yourself get weaker and weaker, when you should be much, much stronger._

 _Much, much stronger,_ Ash thought to himself. _Much...much..._ "stronger." He then opened his eyes, and saw Serena looking back at him.

* * *

"Ash!" Serena said excitedly, smiling as she saw him open his eyes. She saw him wince suddenly, and felt his hand twitch within hers, and she quickly let go, having forgotten that she'd been holding it and must've been squeezing it pretty tightly. "Sorry," she muttered, blushing and sliding her chair back a couple of inches.

Ash didn't say anything, and just looked around the hospital room, seemingly studying all of the people that were in there. Serena frowned, looking curiously at him as his eyes went to Dawn, then Clemont, then Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, Marie, Sycamore, Pikachu, and finally, to Greninja, who was sitting on a bed next to Ash's, having been brought to the hospital by Nurse Joy a few hours earlier.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked his Pokemon, who was staring back at him curiously, seemingly noticing what Serena was noticing, with Ash seeming very tense.

"Gren," Greninja answered, nodding and doing a little fist pump, obviously trying to get some kind of happier response from Ash. His trainer just nodded, though, before he looked at Pikachu.

"How about you, buddy?" he asked, his voice very low and almost emotionless. Serena glanced at Dawn, who looked back with raised eyebrows. _What's wrong with him?_ she mouthed. Serena just shrugged, feeling a pit in her stomach as she looked at Pikachu, who was staring back at Ash, confusion, and a bit of fear, in his eyes.

"Pikapi...pika..." Pikachu finally said, nodding as he slowly moved forward, sitting just in front of Ash's hand, which was resting on his chest.

Ash blinked as he seemed to notice Pikachu's sad and nervous eyes. He glanced down at the bed he was lying on, noticing that he had a hospital gown on. He gave his head a little shake, and looked around the room again, his gaze softening as he noticed the nervous glances of his friends. He even seemed to smile a little as Serena, and then Pikachu each gave him an encouraging smile of their own.

"Thanks for watching over me, Pikachu," Ash finally said, giving the electric mouse a weak smile, before raising his hand up and rubbing behind his ears. The raven-haired trainer then glanced around the room. "Thanks to all of you," he added, taking a deep breath and finally resting his gaze on Serena. "So I guess I passed out during my battle?"

"Yeah," Serena said, giving him a sympathetic smile and nodding. "Nobody is upset with you, though. Most people seem to know that your connection with Greninja is really hard to maintain, and Anton's Scizor was really strong."

Another dark look passed over Ash's face. It was brief, but Serena, and she noticed Pikachu and Greninja as well, noticed it. "Yeah, I know that," Ash muttered, looking out the window that was behind Serena. They were on the second floor of the hospital, so they could see street lights lighting up the buildings along the road, the Sun just beginning to set, casting an orange glow on the clouds in the distance. "Well that was a pretty bad start to this whole IPL thing," Ash added, keeping his eyes aimed straight at the window, although Serena suspected he wasn't really looking at anything in particular.

"It definitely wasn't the best," Dawn admitted, laughing a little nervously. Everyone looked at her with their own nervous looks, all of them seemingly having picked up on Ash's dark mood. "Well...it wasn't. I'm not saying it won't be different next time, but that definitely wasn't a good start. I think it's my fault...I'm the Captain, and I should've done a better job at helping everyone get ready. I think we underestimated them."

"We needed to train more," Ash said quietly, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment. Serena could see that he was still very tired, despite having been completely out of it for the past few hours. She couldn't believe how much that connection with Greninja drained him. "Anton and the others were way more prepared than us. We needed to be ready, and we weren't even close. Like Dawn said, as the Captain, I should've made sure the Battle Team was ready. I wasn't nearly as strong as I should've been."

"Ash, it was just one match," Clemont pointed out, scratching the back of his head as he looked nervously towards his friend. "I'm disappointed too, but it wasn't too bad, was it? They're a strong team, and we underestimated them, and we weren't as prepared as we could've been. That doesn't mean we're bad trainers."

"Yeah, Clemont's right," Trevor said, nodding in agreement as he fiddled with his camera. "I'm frustrated with how things went as well, but...we're here for a reason, right? We made it to the advanced classes, and then we all did really well in the tryouts. We made these teams because we were the best at our school."

"I thought it was an excellent learning experience for all of you," Professor Sycamore added, shocking Serena a bit, as she'd forgotten that he was there. She noticed the Mega Evolution expert looking at Ash, but could see that Ash either didn't care or hadn't noticed, as he was once again looking towards the window, not making eye contact with anyone. "I can't imagine how frustrating these past couple of days have been for all of you. I was frustrated as well, but I know that with being involved, it must've been a very difficult couple of days. However, you must remember that you still have time to get back on track. You can bounce back from this, and I think all of you can use this to improve yourselves."

At this, Ash glanced up, looking directly at Sycamore, his expression quite serious. "I'll definitely use this to get better. There's no way I'm going to lose again." He narrowed his eyes, and a confident smile came to his face as he looked at Pikachu, and then Greninja. "We'll get much, much stronger, right guys?"

"Pika!"

"Gren!"

Serena noticed her friends smiling and looking happily at Ash as he made this vow to his Pokemon, but she couldn't help but feel he seemed different somehow. That smile wasn't the same, and neither was that confidence. She could see Pikachu smiling at his trainer, but she had a feeling that Ash's loyal partner had noticed something was different as well, as his eyes looked a little worried.

"Hoo! Hoo!" Serena jumped a little as she heard the hoots of excitement from behind her, and she turned around to see a brown and green shape shoot up out of Ash's backpack which was on the ground near the window. Serena blinked as the shape shot past her, and then looked towards Ash's bed, and saw Rowlet landing awkwardly on the spot next to Pikachu, careful not to land on his trainer in case of any injuries he might have. "Hoo!" Rowlet added, as he looked excitedly at Ash, clearly happy to see his trainer was up. Serena found this a little amusing, considering Rowlet was almost always asleep.

"Hey Rowlet!" Ash said, smiling as he looked towards the Grass Quill Pokemon. "Good to see that you're up. I bet you want to get stronger as well, don't you? We're all going to work extra hard at it, all right? Nobody is going to be able to beat us!"

Serena finally decided to speak up, wanting to make sure that Ash wasn't going to be spending all of his time training from now until the next IPL match. "Ash, you _are_ going to remember to take it easy from time to time as well, right? You don't want to work _too_ hard."

For a moment, as Ash looked towards her, Serena couldn't help but think that more training was exactly what _she_ needed to do. The thought of Gabby completely controlling the flow of their Performance Battle and outshining her in the Freestyle Performance made her think of the words Gabby had shared with her a couple nights before. _It all seemed like a game to you...It's silly to think you can make people happy, when you can't truly be happy yourself._ What did Gabby mean by that? Maybe Serena _had_ been looking at performances the wrong way. Maybe that was why Palermo had sent her here.

"I have to train harder, Serena. I can't keep falling behind," Ash suddenly said, taking Serena away from her thoughts. She frowned at his words, knowing in her heart that it wasn't the true Ash Ketchum speaking, but then, part of her could see why he was saying it. The part of her that wanted to train that way herself. Maybe they _had_ been taking it too easy. Maybe they just weren't..."professional" enough.

"I don't think you should overwork yourself, Ash," Professor Sycamore said, looking a little concerned as he watched the exchange between Ash and Serena. "Don't forget what has taken you so far in the first place. Remember what I said to you the other day. You have been _very_ successful, and you can't forget what has caused you to achieve so much. And," he added, looking at Serena, and then the others around the room, "don't forget what has been helping you regain your confidence."

"I don't feel too confident after such a bad loss," Ash said bitterly, once again getting that dark expression on his face, as he avoided eye contact with everyone in the room again. "I wasn't nearly as strong as I should have been. Greninja and I should have been able to win that battle if we'd worked harder. Everyone should've been more prepared than we were, and I need to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Serena sighed, starting to let her doubt, the doubt she'd felt as she'd frozen up against Gabby, the doubt she'd felt as she'd walked off of that stage, away from Ash, and even the doubt she'd felt as Fennekin had fallen at her feet in her very first Performance. Way back then, Serena had changed her outlook on life, and how she would approach her goal, and maybe it was time to do that once more. Maybe Ash was right, and training more would help her grow stronger and more confident. And maybe Gabby was right, and she wasn't focusing enough on her actual Performances. Was the idea to have fun, or was it to win? Serena definitely felt a lot better when she won her Performances. And Performances like her last one, where she was completely outclassed, definitely didn't make her feel very good about herself.

"I think I'm going to go take a walk," Serena said, after a few moments of silence. "Will you be okay, Ash?" she asked, looking at him, feeling somewhat nervous as she did so, although she wasn't exactly sure why.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'd like to go for a walk, too, but I might pass out if I did," he answered, laughing weakly as he took a shaky breath, leaning his head back into the pillows under his head. Serena could see the exhaustion in his eyes, and knew he needed some more rest.

"Maybe we'll all give you some more time to rest," Professor Sycamore said, looking between Ash and Greninja. "The two of you are probably going to need to take it easy for a couple of days, even though you want to get to your extra training. That battle definitely took a lot out of both of you."

Ash nodded, although Serena wasn't sure he heard. Or maybe he was just brushing off Sycamore's words, and perhaps silently vowing to train regardless. Serena sighed as she followed the others out of the room. She had no idea whether she should be worried about Ash, or if she should be embracing his ideas. What kind of Performer did she want to be? Did it involve winning, or having fun? Was there a way to have both?

* * *

"All right, everyone, the bus is here! It's time to go!" Valerie's voice called out from the entrance to the Pokemon Centre.

Anton watched quietly as his fellow Laverre students got up from their seats and began to make their way towards the door. He wasn't surprised, however, when one student stayed back, eyeing him suspiciously, her long pink hair lit up by the light of the setting Sun through the window. "Are you enjoying Lumiose City so much that you want to stay here?" Gabby asked, as she smirked at Anton.

The purple-haired trainer narrowed his eyes as he looked at his sister. "Maybe I'm just not in that big a rush to follow orders from a Fashion Designer Gym Leader." He sighed as he noticed Gabby look nervously towards Valerie, who seemed to be watching them. "She's not _my_ coach."

"You can really be a downer sometimes, brother. Why are you always so negative?" Gabby asked, looking seriously at Anton. He, as usual, had his sunglasses on, but the way his sister looked at him, he had a strange feeling she was seeing right through them, and into his eyes.

"I'm the way I need to be in order to get where I want to be," Anton said simply, looking away, watching a few Lumiose University students watching him and his sister. They didn't look too happy, so he, of course, wasn't impressed with their ability to take a loss. _Grow up,_ he thought, as he met their gaze. They might not have been able to see his eyes through his sunglasses, but when he turned his head towards them, they looked away fairly quickly.

Gabby was silent for a few moments, and then glanced back towards Valerie, who was waiting patiently at the entrance. "Yes, you're a great influence with your 'all business' attitude. We got the wins, though, so maybe you can lighten up and get on the bus and enjoy the victory with your teammates."

Even Anton had to raise an eyebrow at that comment. While he wasn't exactly the most excitable of people, it wasn't like he was on a team full of happy-go-lucky people. His sister and Casey were the only ones that ever seemed to crack a smile. Besides, he had no reason, and neither did the rest of them, to be proud of their victory. The Luxrays were a joke. They'd been completely unprepared. Right from the start, with Lisa easily manipulating the Pokemon Quiz against that Performer, Shauna, Anton had known that the weekend would be a complete waste of their time.

"You can't seriously be proud of winning _this_ can you?" Anton asked his sister, leaning back in his seat, and making a point of not looking towards Valerie. "From what you told me, that Serena girl was supposed to be the best up and coming Performer in all of Kalos, and that her friend Shauna wasn't that far off. Well, it didn't seem like they were very good at all. In fact, that had to be the easiest match Lisa has ever had, and it didn't look like it was much of a struggle for you, either."

"Everyone has a bad day once in a while," Gabby pointed out. "I wouldn't be surprised if they came back stronger than ever in our next match. And hey, I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. Ketchum had you on the ropes there. If his Greninja had managed to complete that Water Shuriken..."

Anton tensed up at that, clenching his fists as he rested them on the table in front of him. "Ketchum wasn't nearly as prepared as he should've been. I'll admit, he might've been able to give me a challenge if he had trained his Greninja better, but he's still not as strong as he needs to be if he's ever going to compete with me."

"Scizor was exhausted after that battle. Nurse Joy only finished up with him an hour ago. Don't you think that means something?" Gabby smirked, shaking her head as she looked at Anton. "Ketchum caught you by surprise. You _have_ to admit that. There's no way you expected that kind of power from his Greninja."

Anton was silent for a few moments as he looked back at his sister, thinking about his match from earlier in the day. After another glance towards Valerie, he decided to finally get up, and he and Gabby finally made their way over to the door, with Gabby giving Valerie an apologetic look, while Anton didn't even look at her.

As they made their way towards the bus, Anton couldn't help but think about the final moments of his battle with Ash, and watching as his Greninja, in that special form of his, had formed such a powerful looking Water Shuriken. As the attack had formed, expanding, spinning and glowing in front of them, Anton had to admit, he'd become slightly nervous. It _had_ been somewhat impressive; he had to admit that.

When he finally sat down in his seat, Gabby sitting down next to him, Anton glanced over to her, shrugging a little. "I suppose Ketchum was fairly strong. Considering I needed Scizor to mega evolve, he put up quite a fight. I wonder what that special form was, though. They didn't use a Key Stone and a Mega Stone, but that was definitely a different form."

Gabby smiled a little, apparently happy that Anton was able to admit to his opponent being strong. She then pursed her lips as she seemed to think about what Anton was talking about, her hand going to the bow in her hair as she fiddled with it. "I've never heard about a Greninja being able to do something like that before," she said, looking out the window as the bus began to move. "Maybe it has something to do with the ability Torrent? There _was_ that water that rushed all around him as he changed form, and he'd taken a couple of hard hits from Scizor. Maybe his endurance was low enough?"

"Did that look like an ability as simple as Torrent?" Anton asked, finally deciding to remove his sunglasses and give his sister a sceptical look. "Torrent increases a Pokemon's power, sure, but I've never seen nor heard about it doing _anything_ like that. Greninja completely changed form. He even looked a little bit like Ketchum."

Gabby nodded, fiddling with her bow once again as she thought for a few moments. "Is it possible for a Pokemon to mega evolve without a Key Stone and a Mega Stone?" she asked, glancing at the bandana around Anton's neck, before looking up at her bow and continuing to fiddle with it.

"I don't think so," Anton said simply, shaking his head as he looked out the window, watching the last few buildings slip past as the bus approached the exit to the city. "Mega Evolution is complicated enough even _with_ the Key Stone and Mega Stone. You know how long it took me to make it work with Scizor. Even _if_ it was somehow possible, I don't think Ketchum would be able to do it. I don't think even a Champion, like Diantha, would be able to do it."

Gabby rolled her eyes at that and gave Anton a somewhat disapproving look. "And why is it that Ketchum wouldn't be able to do it? Whatever that is with Greninja, it's definitely not something either of us has ever seen before. He did nearly win the Kalos League with that Greninja, you know."

This time, it was Anton's turn to roll his eyes. "You know what I think of Pokemon Leagues. Whether Ketchum did well in that or not doesn't change what I think. Perhaps some good trainers compete there, but I don't think going after Gym badges is the way to train. I think I proved that when I battled against the Lumiose Gym Leader.

"Clemont gave Dean a good battle, don't you think?" Gabby argued, looking back at their teammate, who seemed to be sleeping as Sasha read a book next to him. "A Bunnelby giving a Diggersby a challenge is pretty impressive."

"It should never have been his Bunnelby that battled in the first place," Anton pointed out, shrugging. "His Luxray was clearly his strongest Pokemon when he battled me. In a competition where you're battling with just one Pokemon, you should definitely go with your best, or the Pokemon that has the type advantage."

"Well if he'd gone with Luxray, you would've said that he wasn't smart, because he used a Pokemon that had a bad type matchup," Gabby said, laughing a little as she looked at her brother. "These Gym Leaders just can't win with you, can they?"

For a moment, Anton nearly smiled as he looked back at his amused sister, but he forced himself to resist the urge, and frowned, looking away and back out the window. "I guess it's just easy to criticize them when they make so many mistakes and fail at their job of improving the trainers they compete against."

Gabby sighed, and Anton knew she was giving him a disapproving look, even though he couldn't see her as he looked out the window. "You should be careful, Anton. You say those Lumiose University trainers were unprepared for their performances and battles, but if you refuse to acknowledge that they're good trainers, it'll be _you_ who's unprepared the next time."

"I'm always prepared. It doesn't matter who I'm battling," Anton pointed out, turning back from the window and looking his sister in the eyes. "I know they might be talented, and they might have capable Pokemon, but if they fail to prepare properly, they aren't good trainers. A good trainer is always prepared. There are no excuses for not being prepared."

Gabby shrugged, and Anton knew that she wasn't going to argue with that. She was definitely very careful about making sure she was always prepared for her performances, so he knew she agreed with his thoughts on that. "They don't seem like the kind of people to be unprepared, though," she pointed out. "And it wasn't like they all performed or battled poorly. If I hadn't been able to trick Serena into thinking I was attacking her, she might've been able to get the judges' attention and win the match."

"She shouldn't have fallen for a trick as simple as that," Anton argued, shaking his head as he thought of that moment, having thought himself at the time that it was obvious. "From what we were told, Lumiose University was supposed to be our toughest competition. After this weekend, I don't even think they should be involved in the IPL at all."

"Maybe another close match against Ash will change your mind," Gabby said with a smirk, watching Anton closely, knowing he was interested in testing out Scizor's skills against that Greninja once more after only getting a sample of its power.

"I _would_ like to battle him once more," Anton admitted, narrowing his eyes and looking out the window again. He looked over top of the trees that were flying by next to the bus as they drove along, and he could see the tip of Prism Tower poking out above them, lighting up the darkening sky. He couldn't help but let a smile come to his face as he looked at the city that was quickly leaving his sight. He hadn't been able to get much of a read on Ash Ketchum and his Greninja, and perhaps that was because Ash hadn't been as prepared as he should've been, but Anton did know that Ash and Greninja had to be capable of incredible power. Maybe it was nothing, or maybe it was a potentially great challenge for him. What he did know, is that he didn't want to wait too long for their next battle. _I'll battle you again, Ketchum. Sooner than you think. You'd better be prepared next time._

* * *

When Shauna woke up the next morning, she could already hear Serena shuffling around in her room, clearly already awake and ready to get on with the day. It was still kind of early, but Shauna couldn't really blame her friend, with how things had gone that weekend. Wanting to move on with the week was probably normal. She supposed the others were probably doing the same thing. In fact, she wouldn't have been surprised if Ash was out of the hospital and already training, and if some of the others had gone to join him. She was tempted to go as well, but decided she was going to at least get ready for the day first.

She managed to get out of bed, and get dressed. As peppy as Shauna could be, mornings weren't her preferred time of day, and she was fairly slow and sluggish as she got herself ready. She heard a few tired mumbles from Serena in the other room, and assumed she was moving fairly slowly as well. Finally, though, Shauna was changed, and she'd packed her things for her classes into her bag and had collected her and Clemont's egg off of her desk, and she was ready to go.

When Shauna finally stepped out of her room, she came face to face with Serena, who must've just finished up with her own morning routine and was stepping out of her own room, her and Ash's egg held in her arms. Shauna was a little concerned as she looked at Serena, noticing bags under her eyes and slow, awkward movements as she turned to close her door. The egg even slipped a little in her arms, and Shauna thought she was going to have to jump forward and catch it.

"Good morning," Serena finally said tiredly as she managed to finally close the door and turned back to face Shauna, readjusting the position of the egg in her arms. "Sleep well?"

Shauna shrugged as the two made their way to the front hall and out towards the door. If she was being honest, she hadn't slept very well, as she couldn't get the losses out of her head, along with the image of Ash completely passed out. It had been quite a concerning moment. However, looking at Serena, Shauna knew that she'd probably slept like a baby in comparison. "I had an okay sleep," she answered simply, as they made their way out into the hallway, Serena closing the door behind them before they set off towards the elevators. "I guess you had a bit of a rough night?" Shauna asked, hoping she wasn't insulting Serena with the question.

"I couldn't really sleep at all," Serena admitted, looking sadly at the ground as they walked. "I can't stop thinking about...well...everything. That weekend really couldn't have gone worse, could it? We were really embarrassed."

Shauna nodded, not saying anything as they walked the rest of the way to the elevator. Once it arrived and they stepped in, she looked at her very tired and frustrated looking friend. "I really thought we were going to win when we were going into this. I guess I just got too nervous and I didn't prepare enough."

Serena was silent for a few moments as the elevator took them down, finally opening up to the lobby where the two girls stepped out. A few other students were heading to the dining hall, but it seemed fairly quiet with it still being fairly early. As Shauna and Serena made their way into the dining hall to go and get breakfast, Serena spoke up. "Why did you start performing, Shauna? Was it because of Pokevision, Aria or just something else?"

As the two of them began to get their breakfast, Shauna thought carefully about the question. She hadn't really considered what had truly made her want to become a Performer for a while. In a way, it had kind of just happened, and she'd just been naturally drawn to it. It had been something exciting for her to do, and fit her excitable personality fairly well. Her Pokemon had seemed to enjoy it as well, and that had definitely been a plus. "I'm not sure, really," she answered slowly, as the two of them made their way to a table after getting their breakfast, and sat down. "I was a big fan of Pokevision before, and saw Aria and a few others showing off their Pokemon in really amazing ways, with dances and fashion designs and all kinds of things like that. Then, when I saw some of Aria's performances, I was amazed with how she was able to show off their beauty. It looked like so much fun, and my Pokemon and I really enjoyed trying it out."

Serena frowned at that, looking thoughtful as she quietly at her food. She didn't say anything for a few moments, but then finally looked back at Shauna, curiosity in her eyes. "So, you started performing for the fun of it, right?"

Shauna paused for a moment, not quite sure what Serena was getting at with her questions. She seemed so confused, but also somewhat hopeful as she asked the last question. "I guess so. It's a lot of fun for me and my Pokemon. It's like that for you, isn't it?"

"Well...yeah, but..." Serena trailed off, looking down at her food as she began to think. "Is there more to it than that? You were sad when you didn't win the Masterclass, right? A lot of the performers there were really disappointed."

Shauna nodded, remembering how sad and disappointed she'd been after losing. Even though she'd lost to Serena, it hadn't been easy to get so far in her dream, and then lose when she was so close to getting a chance at performing against Aria. It was still her dream to do that one day. Just like Serena, she wanted to be Kalos Queen. Maybe there was a little more to it than just taking it easy and having fun while performing with her Pokemon. But as Shauna looked at Serena's tired eyes, she could see the doubt there, and knew Serena was wondering what she'd done wrong against Gabby in her Performance. "Performances are hard work, sure, but Serena, they're meant to be fun. Not just for you, but your Pokemon as well. Don't you always say that you like to perform to make people smile?"

Serena shrugged, poking at her food a bit. "I just feel like I'm not doing it right. Palermo said I wasn't ready to beat Aria after the Masterclass, and then she suggested I go to this school. Maybe she wants me to learn how to treat it more like a career than anything else. Just like Gabby seems to do."

Shauna looked away, narrowing her eyes in frustration at the thought of Gabby telling Serena to not enjoy performing. When she looked back at Serena, Shauna could see the doubt and confusion in her friend's tired eyes. "Don't listen to Gabby," Shauna said seriously lightly hitting her fist on the table. "And if Palermo wants you to be like that, don't listen to her, either. You were a great Performer before coming here, and you just need to keep doing what you _were_ doing to get better."

Serena smiled a little at Shauna's words, but lightly shook her head after a few moments. "Maybe I haven't been improving, though. What I've been doing hasn't been enough. Maybe I just did well at the Masterclass because of beginner's luck."

"You know as well as I do that it wasn't just beginner's luck," Shauna argued, staring at Serena in shock. She hadn't seen Serena looking so down since her very first Showcase loss, when Fennekin had tripped during the Fashion Show. "Serena, you _do_ work hard, but you can't forget about just having fun. Remember what Professor Sycamore said to Ash? Don't forget what got you here."

Serena didn't seem to accept that, though, instead just taking a few more bites of her food. After a few moments, she looked away, watching as a few students entered the dining hall. "Palermo is the one who got me here. If she wants me to change how I perform, maybe that's what I need to do."

Shauna wanted to argue, but she didn't really know what else she could say. Serena seemed convinced that she wasn't doing things the way she should be, and that she needed to change her approach. Shauna didn't even really know if she was completely wrong. She obviously believed that performing should be fun, but with her embarrassing loss the other day, part of her wanted to take a different approach to her training as well.

The two of them ate in silence for a few minutes after that, and then Shauna noticed Serena look up, and she followed her friend's gaze to see Clemont entering the dining hall. They waved to him, catching his attention so he knew where they were sitting. He quickly got himself a plate of food and then made his way over, sitting next to Shauna at the table and taking a quick look at the egg that was between the two of them.

"It looks like the egg is in good shape," he noted, peering at it through his glasses, and giving the glass case a couple of knocks with his fist. Shauna didn't know what the point of that was, and just decided to assume it was one of Clemont's "sciencey" things.

"Like I've told you, I'm not irresponsible when it comes to taking care of Pokemon," Shauna muttered, folding her arms and glaring at Clemont.

"I wasn't saying you were!" Clemont said, in a somewhat panicky voice, waving his hands in front of his face. "I'm just saying it looks like it's in good shape." Shauna narrowed her eyes at that, but didn't say anything else, as Clemont turned to face Serena. "How's your egg doing, Serena? I bet Ash will like to know when I see him later. He probably won't be making it to your Pokemon Healthcare class."

"I think it's doing well," Serena said, glancing at the egg on the table in front of her. "It doesn't seem like it's going to be hatching anytime soon, but I guess it's still healthy."

Clemont leaned forward, peering at the egg through his glasses, just as he'd done with his and Shauna's egg. Shauna thought he looked a little ridiculous as he did it, but didn't say anything as he sat back, smiling. "It looks like it's in good condition. You and Ash are clearly doing a good job in taking care of it."

Serena gave Clemont a sceptical look at that. "Well...there's not too much involved in taking care of it, you know."

"Maybe it's because you and Ash had dinner with it," Shauna said jokingly, even getting Clemont to laugh along at that.

Serena was quiet for a moment, shaking her head in exasperation, but Shauna was glad to see her friend crack a smile. "Maybe it will hatch if we win our next IPL match."

"I think they're supposed to hatch before that," Clemont pointed out, taking another look at his and Shauna's egg. "Reggie said it would only take a few weeks. I've heard that some people have already noticed their eggs moving a little."

"Well, we definitely need to make sure we're ready for when it hatches, because we'll have a lot of work to do when it does," Shauna pointed out, thinking of what Reggie had mentioned about training the baby Pokemon to do a battle or Performance by the end of the semester.

"Right," Serena said quietly, "we've got a lot to get ready for."

Clemont nodded at that, as he began to eat his breakfast, but Shauna frowned, watching Serena as the honey-blonde Performer busied herself with studying her egg. While she was right, that they had a lot to get ready for, Serena's words still worried Shauna a bit. She just hoped Serena, and the rest of her friends, weren't going to let their disappointing weekend change them for the worse.

 **Author's Note:**

Well that was kind of depressing, wasn't it? Will the Lumiose crew get things back on track? The next few chapters will give us the answer.

Now, to address the losing thing one more time. First, the losing was necessary, so...if you're upset they lost, I'm sorry, but that's a big part of the story. It's not the sign of a reset, it's just some losses. Did it need to go 3 chapters? Maybe not, but I did decide that it was important to show all of the characters losing, as they're going to cope with their losses differently. When the story is done, 3 chapters won't seem like that much. And while it did make things somewhat predictable, that was partly the point. Everything was falling apart for the main cast, and now we'll see how they rebound.

On a happier note, does anyone know what yesterday was? Waiting...waiting...THAT'S RIGHT! March 8th was the one year anniversary of _Gotta Catch That One_ 's first chapter. I can't believe it's been a full year since I started writing fanfics. And what a fun year it's been. So I'd like to thank all of you for such a fun year, and for making GCTO such a successful story. Hopefully we'll make Lumiose University just as fun of a journey.

Thanks again, and I'll see you next time.


	24. A Test For Absol

**Author's Note:**

Long time no chapter. Wow, it's been a rough month. But it's much better now. Much, much better. The updates definitely won't be stopped like that for a while. Not to worry. Anyways, happy late 20th Pokemon Anniversary and all that. I'd say more, but you probably want the chapter that's been nonexistent for way too long. So yeah...here you go.

 **Chapter 24: A Test For Absol**

"All right, class, today we'll be working on how to heal electric type Pokemon when they've built up too much electricity," Nurse Joy called out from the front of the class, looking around the room as the students awaited her instructions.

Ash wasn't really paying attention, though, as Nurse Joy continued to discuss the day's lesson and what they were going to be doing. For the past week, his mind hadn't really been on his classes that much. He felt bad about it, and knew that he needed to focus on his classes far more than he had been lately. Actually, he probably needed to focus more on his classes than he had been even before the IPL had started. It was hard, though, with the thoughts of his loss still on his mind. It didn't help that he kept hearing students whispering about the loss whenever he walked past them, or that even his friends didn't seem to be looking at him the same way.

The thought of his friends made Ash take a quick glance to his right, where Serena was watching Nurse Joy, doing a much better job of listening to the lecture than he was. He was well aware that his depressive state seemed to have had an impact on her as well. For someone who had been so joyful when they'd met, there seemed to be almost no happiness in her demeanour these days. Of course, Ash felt bad about that as well, obviously not wanting to bring his friends down with him, but he just couldn't help it. He felt miserable. Something about that loss had truly shaken him.

Ash's thoughts drifted to his battle with Anton as he once again tried to think of where it had gone wrong, as he'd been doing ever since his loss. He'd made excuses for himself a few times, telling himself that he'd only lost because he'd passed out, and that if he had stayed up, Greninja would have been able to get the win. He refused to think of it like that, though, after much more thought. He had lost, and he wasn't going to tell himself it was any different. He wasn't going to get better if he made poor excuses for himself.

"Mr. Ketchum...excuse me, Mr. Ketchum," a voice called out, snapping Ash's attention to the front of the class, where Nurse Joy was standing, staring at him. She looked a little frustrated that he hadn't been paying attention, but she didn't seem too angry. At least not yet. "Would it be all right if Pikachu joined me for a quick demonstration for the class?" she asked, looking to the electric mouse who was sitting in front of Ash.

Ash looked down at Pikachu, deciding to let him choose rather than to decide himself. Pikachu smiled back, nodding, before hopping off the desk and making his way over to Nurse Joy. Once there, he hopped up onto the desk she had in front of her, with various medical supplies that she would use for demonstrations like this. As Ash watched Pikachu wait for whatever Nurse Joy was going to do, he couldn't help but think that the electric mouse was becoming frustrated with the dark mood Ash had been in. Ash sighed, turning and looking out the window of the room. _Maybe some training will help clear both of our heads. Nothing like some hard work to get back on track_.

Throughout Nurse Joy's demonstration, Ash barely focused, looking back and forth between her and Pikachu, and the window. Partly, he was just uninterested in being stuck in a class at the moment, but he'd also learned some of this already. After years of being Pikachu's trainer, he'd come across a buildup of electricity a few times.

Ash watched Pikachu for a few moments, as Nurse Joy demonstrated a few techniques to drain electricity from the electric sacs on his cheeks and described the symptoms that were common in these cases. For something that Ash was finding so boring, he could see that Pikachu seemed to be enjoying himself. Just sitting there and doing a simple demonstration for the class seemed to have lifted the electric mouse's spirits.

Ash sighed again, watching his loyal partner Pokemon, just enjoying the peaceful moment. He knew that Pikachu, just like Ash, and all of his Pokemon, wanted to win all of their battles, but maybe Ash was being too hard on him and the others. It was just one loss, and it was a loss that they could bounce back from. They'd nearly won it, and if they'd never passed out...

 _It's not just one loss, though_ , Ash told himself bitterly, looking out the window once again, narrowing his eyes in frustration. _We've been losing a lot lately. Alain, Gary, Dawn and Tierno, a draw against Trevor, Anton...even before the Kalos League I was losing a lot. Something's not going right, and we need to keep training_.

After a few more minutes of Nurse Joy's demonstration to the class, she had Pikachu return to Ash, and then asked for everyone to practice with their various electric type Pokemon, some of which were brought in for the class for students who didn't have any. Ash just decided to sit back while Serena and Marie worked with Pikachu, as he was already pretty comfortable with this kind of work.

As he watched his two friends working with Pikachu, Ash's attention once again drifted to the window. He thought of his dream on the night of his loss to Anton, while turning after a moment and watching Serena examine Pikachu's cheeks. He couldn't quite remember everything in that dream, but he could remember hearing Serena's voice, along with some of his other friends. Their concern for him only made him more frustrated. He'd let them all down by failing in his match. After all his success in the past, he was starting to slip up. It seemed like he just couldn't keep up with the best trainers. He had to be better, and he had to try harder.

A few minutes later, after Serena and Marie had been working quietly with Pikachu, not even bothering to ask Ash to join in, Nurse Joy approached the three of them to see how they were doing. Marie, as usual with this class, demonstrated the perfect routine in checking over Pikachu and showing how to deal with a surplus of electricity. Serena added in a few details as well, casting a few awkward glances towards Ash as she finished, obviously wondering if he was going to add anything.

Apparently Nurse Joy was expecting something as well, as she looked at Ash with a raised eyebrow. "Mr. Ketchum? Anything to add? I'm sure you've had to deal with this issue before."

Ash shrugged, looking at Pikachu before giving an answer. "Yeah," he said simply, not bothering to add anything more than that. He didn't really see the point.

When he looked back at Nurse Joy, he could see she wasn't too pleased. "Do you have anything else to add? It might help your friends, here," she said shortly.

Ash was almost tempted to give an angry retort back. He really wasn't feeling that great at the moment. He hadn't been feeling great for about a week. He didn't feel like having to answer every single question that was thrown at him.

Ash finally took a deep breath, though, knowing he couldn't just let his bad mood control him like this, and gave an answer. "Usually our training is good enough for Pikachu," he said, looking at the smiling electric mouse, "but a couple of times we've had to use a machine that absorbs electricity." He decided to leave out the part about Team Rocket, the the three thieves that seemed to follow him everywhere throughout his journey, having created those machines to try to steal Pikachu. Now that he thought of it, he hadn't seen them in a while.

Nurse Joy nodded, accepting the answer, even looking a little surprised. "Keeping an electric type active with hard work is definitely a good way to make sure they don't run into this problem. Hopefully you can keep it up. Just make sure you don't work too hard."

Ash nodded as Nurse Joy turned and walked away, approaching another group of students. He didn't really think he was working hard enough at the moment, so he knew Pikachu wasn't going to be stuck with too much electricity anytime soon. He could already feel his legs twitching as he looked up at the clock. He really wanted to get going so he could do some training.

A quiet cough brought his attention to the girls next to him, and Ash noticed both Serena and Marie looking at him strangely. He didn't know who had coughed, but by the way Marie was looking at him with narrowed eyes, he assumed it was her. He had no idea why she'd be angry with him, and gave her a questioning look.

"Are you going to pay attention at all today?" Marie asked, leaning forward a bit, causing Serena to shift a bit awkwardly to her left. "You've been daydreaming all day and you're not even helping us with your own Pokemon."

Ash was about to answer, narrowing his own eyes as he glared back, but Serena interrupted. "Ash is still recovering, Marie," she said quickly, giving a nervous look towards Ash. "That battle was hard on him and Greninja."

Marie shrugged, clearly not accepting that answer. "If you're here, you should help out and pay attention. You've been like this since last week, and you're not getting any better. Both of you have been so miserable," she added, looking at Serena. "You guys need to move on. It was just one loss."

"Leave Serena out of it," Ash muttered, gritting his teeth as he looked at Marie. "You don't know what it's like. It's about a lot more than just one loss."

"Pika..." Pikachu said quietly, looking at the three trainers, clearly not liking where this was going.

Serena nodded, seemingly agreeing with what Pikachu was trying to convey. "All right, you two, just relax. It's just been a bit of a rough week, Marie. Ash and I have been training pretty hard after our losses, so we've just got a lot on our minds, I guess."

Marie was silent for a few moments, obviously deciding whether or not to say anything else on that, but eventually just sighed. "Why do you guys think you need to work so hard? You're in the advanced programs, and you made the IPL teams easily. Do you know how many people at this school would've loved to be you guys right now?"

Ash thought for a moment, as he looked back at Marie, who continued to stare at him and Serena, a mix of frustration and a bit of sadness in her eyes. He felt a little bad, seeing her like that. Since meeting her, Marie had been pretty upbeat and seemed to enjoy hanging out with the rest of the group whenever she could. Right now, though, she looked like she couldn't even recognize Ash and Serena. It made him feel kind of lost in his own body.

Did it change anything, though? Sure, he knew he hadn't been in a very good mood the last week, and he probably needed to lighten up a bit, but he still felt like Marie didn't really know what that loss to Anton had felt like. He was pretty sure Serena was feeling almost as down as he was, and that she was pretty frustrated as well, considering the amount of training she'd been doing.

Ash looked at Serena as he noticed her considering Marie's words. He supposed the aspiring Nurse Joy had a point, as he thought more about it. There were definitely a lot of people who would've loved to make it onto both teams. However, to him, that was why he needed to try harder. He was the Captain of the Battle Team. He needed to show he deserved his spot, and he'd failed in that so far. He had to train harder, and he had to win.

* * *

As Serena made her way to the Pokemon Centre after her Healthcare class, seeing Ash dashing off towards the training facilities, she noticed Marie watching her, with that same frustrated look in her eyes, before she turned around to head home. Serena pursed her lips as she continued walking. She couldn't really blame Marie for her frustration, and she knew Ash didn't either, but it couldn't change the path they were on. Serena and Ash each had a goal, and it was to be the best Performer and the best Trainer.

Of course, Serena knew that Marie had a point about her and Ash being a bit moody lately. All the training was becoming a bit tiresome, and each time Serena thought she was perfecting a routine with her Pokemon, she always felt like something was missing. It just didn't feel like she was making any progress, and every time she would slip up, she would imagine Gabby perfecting another one of her routines, easily outdoing Serena...again. She couldn't help but be moody after all of it.

A sigh escaped her lips as she continued walking. She remembered what it had been like at first, when she'd first decided to become a Performer, after seeing Aria performing, and then meeting Pancham. The thought of both those memories brought a smile to her face. Serena had been so excited back then, vowing to both Braixen and Pancham that they'd all work hard together and eventually win the Masterclass.

It wasn't even that she was upset about her Masterclass defeat. She'd lost to the best Performer in all of Kalos after all, and there was no shame in that. Serena and her Pokemon had even put up a good fight, too. But losing to Gabby, and losing in the fashion that she did...Serena could just feel that something wasn't right. To bounce back and be better, she had to change. She wasn't a beginner anymore, so she needed to prepare differently.

Serena couldn't deny that she wasn't feeling quite like herself, though. She knew that her friends had noticed her change as well. Much like Marie, they'd all seemed to notice Serena and Ash acting a bit less...cheerful. Serena had noticed Shauna giving her awkward looks whenever they were in their residence. Shauna even seemed to be avoiding Serena sometimes, as she'd been spending a bit more time with Clemont, using the egg as her excuse. It all just added to the frustration for Serena.

Serena knew things couldn't stay like this forever, and she wanted to make sure she wasn't alienating herself from her friends, but right now, making sure she was on the right track with her performances was a priority. It wasn't just for her, but also for her friends, and for her Pokemon. They'd all lost pretty badly to Laverre University, and they owed it themselves, the school and to each other, to get back on track so that they could beat Shalour College in their next match. If Laverre taught them anything, it was that these matches weren't going to be easy, and everyone needed to be prepared.

Something about going through all of this in her mind made Serena feel a little bit better, although she still felt a little bit of doubt as she thought of Ash and Marie. She hated that Ash was feeling down, and not acting like himself, despite understanding it and sort of going through the same thing herself. And, of course, she hated seeing Marie get upset that her friends were struggling. Again, Serena understood it, but she knew she had to deal with her problems her own way. She knew she couldn't be such a downer with her friends, but she also knew that she couldn't be as carefree as she'd been before. Her approach to performing had to be better. That was why Palermo suggested this school. It was exactly what Gabby was doing, and Serena needed to do it too, so long as she wanted to win.

Her thoughts began to wander after that, as she continued making her way to the Pokemon Centre. There was no point in dwelling on the negativity at the moment. As she walked along the surprisingly quiet Lumiose City street, Serena almost laughed as she looked up at the sky, seeing the Sun shining brightly. The weather had been like this all week, as though telling her and Ash to lighten up, and stop being so moody.

A few minutes later, Serena finally arrived at her destination, seeing the Pokemon Centre up ahead. As hard as Serena was training, and as much as she had wanted to join Ash when he'd set off right after class, she couldn't deny her excitement as she approached the Pokemon Centre. She'd been keeping up her visits to Absol every day, and she was noticing his improvement. According to Nurse Joy, he would probably be able to walk fairly soon, and as long as he didn't overdo it, he'd be able to get some time away from the Pokemon Centre. Serena just hoped that the Disaster Pokemon wasn't going to leave as soon as he had the chance. He seemed to tolerate Serena's presence, and hadn't growled at her once in the past two weeks, but she still had the impression that he didn't fully trust her, or at least humans in general. Of course, it was fully understandable why he was like that.

When Serena made her way into the Pokemon Centre, she noticed Nurse Joy checking in a couple of Pokemon at the front desk. There was a very bizarre and awkward moment where Serena couldn't figure out if it was the same Nurse Joy from her earlier class or not, as the Lumiose City Nurse Joy didn't teach every class. She decided that it probably wasn't, as it looked like a fairly busy day in the Pokemon Centre, and Serena was fairly sure the Nurse Joy who had been teaching the class earlier was preparing for another class later in the day.

After waiting patiently for a few minutes, while Nurse Joy checked over a few Pokemon in the back, Serena approached the front desk once the Pokemon nurse returned to give the Pokemon she'd been checking over back to their trainers. When Nurse Joy saw Serena, she smiled, clearly knowing why she was there. "Hello, Serena," she greeted. "Here to see Absol again?"

Serena nodded, but also pulled out her three pokeballs, deciding she might as well have her Pokemon checked over while she was there. "Yeah, but if you don't mind, could you do a checkup on Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon for me? I'll be practising some performance routines later, so we'll all need to be in good shape."

"Of course," Nurse Joy said quickly, reaching over and taking the pokeballs from Serena and placing them on a tray behind her. She then gestured for Serena to follow her into the back, opening the door and stepping through.

Serena smiled, once again feeling excited at the thought of seeing Absol again, and she quickly followed Nurse Joy through the door. As they went down the small hallway, Nurse Joy went into her examination room, nodding at Serena to signal she could continue to the room Absol was in. Serena was fairly used to this place by now, and knew the routine, quickly making her way down the rest of the hall, and stepping into Absol's room quietly, being careful just in case he was sleeping.

"Sol," came a quiet murmur from the back of the room, and Serena jumped a little, turning around quickly after closing the door. She smiled widely, seeing Absol looking at her from the bed, which was now moved a little further to the end of the room. The Disaster Pokemon didn't look irritable or anything, although sometimes it was hard to tell with him. Serena actually felt like he was...greeting her?

"Hi Absol," Serena said quietly, watching him closely, interested to see if he was going to make any kind of sign that he was happy to see her. She watched the Disaster Pokemon as it stared back, the silence drawing on for almost a minute before he shifted on his bed, actually rising up in a sitting position.

"Absol," he murmured, lowering his head, almost like he was nodding for Serena to approach him. He seemed somewhat uncomfortable doing so, almost like he was shy about wanting Serena there with him. The small gesture from the usually serious and moody Pokemon made Serena smile. As down as she'd been the last week, Absol was able to make her feel a little better, just with his small sign that, at the very least, he liked her being there.

Serena then made her way over, pulling up a chair next to Absol's bed and sitting next to it, as he lowered himself back down into a more comfortable position. She could see that his legs were still fairly weak, as he clearly struggled to remain in the sitting position, with more weight on them. The fact that he'd at least been able to put _some_ weight on them made her happy, though.

For a couple of minutes, Serena sat silently with Absol, just softly petting him as he began to relax, the two of them simply enjoying the peaceful moment. Serena then noticed a TV on the wall opposite Absol's bed, and a remote on a desk next to the bed. She supposed Nurse Joy must have set it up so that when Absol was alone, he wasn't just sitting in silence. Since she didn't really have too much to say, Serena decided to see what was on, and if she could find anything that Absol might enjoy. _Maybe something about...disasters?_ She couldn't really think of anything that Absol would like, and considering he was known as "the Disaster Pokemon" it was the only thing that came to mind.

She decided to just turn on the TV and see what was on, deciding she could just channel surf until she found something. However, when she first turned on the TV, she was immediately drawn to what was on it, and she was surprised to see Absol even raising his head up a bit, looking curiously at what, or who, was on the TV.

It was none other than the Kalos Queen, Aria, performing in front of an audience in Coumarine City. Her red hair blew around behind her as her Vivillon carried her along the stage, much like it had during her Masterclass Performance. There was also her Delphox, lighting up the stage with huge, bright blasts of fire, that would fall to the stage as little embers, before Aromatisse used reflect to both protect Aria and the other Pokemon, while also creating the effect of floating fire.

"It's beautiful, isn't it, Absol?" Serena asked, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched Aria perform. She so badly wanted to reach her level. It only made her want to try harder. Gabby had shown her that it was a long way away, and Serena knew she needed to step up her game.

"Sol," Absol answered quietly, and Serena once again glanced at him, seeing him following the performance with surprising interest in his eyes. She didn't want to say anything, since she knew Absol might stubbornly refuse to acknowledge his interest, but she did enjoy seeing him perk up at something.

For about an hour, Serena continued to watch the performances, with Aria's having been a special exhibition one before an official Rookie Showcase. She described some of the rules to Absol, such as the Theme Performance, which in this case included a baking competition where the performers had to bake PokePuffs. Absol didn't appear too interested in those, although Serena could see him eyeing the PokePuffs on the screen, making a mental note to make him some.

When the Freestyle Performance round came on, Serena was glad to see Absol's interest pique again. She described a few things to him, explaining how things were judged, and how the performances needed to show the bond between the trainer and Pokemon, but overall, she enjoyed just watching the performances, as she saw Absol taking an interest in them.

And when the Showcase finally ended, Serena watched the ceremony to award the Princess Key, and then she looked down at Absol, about to tell him about her own Princess Key quest. However, when she looked at the Disaster Pokemon, it was just to find him sleeping, looking peaceful as his head rested upon his front paws.

The sight made Serena smile, and she watched Absol sleeping for a few moments, glad that he was able to rest. Part of her was kind of wondering if he was dreaming about the performances he'd been watching. She stayed with him for another few minutes, just in case he was going to wake up, but when he appeared to be in a deep sleep, Serena decided it was time to go so that she could prepare for her next class.

"Goodbye Absol," Serena whispered, petting his white fur as she stood up, before turning away and making her way to the door. Just before leaving, she looked back, watching Absol for just another moment, wondering again if he was dreaming about those performances, and wondering just how interested he truly was.

* * *

Absol slept peacefully for quite a few hours, only opening his eyes at the sound of the pink-haired woman entering the room he'd been staying in. He blinked a few times, raising his head up a bit as he watched her approach, a bowl of food in her hands. Absol was still a little wary of this woman, as she seemed a little too willing to approach him. He understood that she seemed to be some kind of Pokemon caretaker or nurse, but he was still somewhat suspicious. He, of course, hadn't had many good experiences with humans who willingly approached him.

There was that girl, though, who for whatever reason, visited him every day. Absol growled a little at the thought, startling the Pokemon nurse a little as she placed the food next to him on his bed. Some part of the Disaster Pokemon missed that girl whenever she would leave after those visits. Perhaps it was simply that Absol owed her a debt for saving him from that Hunter. It definitely wasn't that he liked a human. No, that couldn't be it. While she was an admittedly kind human, he still couldn't trust her...or any others.

"I'm sorry, Absol," the pink-haired woman suddenly said, backing up from the bed a couple of steps. "I shouldn't have come up so quickly after you woke up."

Absol looked at her for a moment, before blinking and then raising himself up a bit and beginning to eat his food. He supposed this nurse deserved a little bit of gratitude, as she too had helped him. While his legs still gave him great discomfort, Absol knew they could've been much worse, especially if he'd been stuck with that Pokemon Hunter, or sold to whoever had planned to buy him.

"Serena said that you were looking a lot better today," the woman said, smiling at Absol, apparently thinking that she was welcome to stay. He decided to just continue eating, allowing her to stay. He was curious about the girl anyways, and what she'd said about him.

"Sol," Absol murmured, after swallowing a mouthful of food. He did feel slightly better today, so the girl was right in telling this nurse that, he supposed. Maybe he would be able to get out of this room. He was almost tempted to try. Maybe his legs needed a bit of work to heal faster. It was definitely a slow recovery in just lying on a bed all day. He immediately began to feel an itch in his legs, as the desire to move took hold of him.

The pink-haired woman didn't seem to notice Absol's sudden urge to get up and move, which he supposed was natural as he didn't exactly have enough energy to show it. At least not yet. So, she continued speaking, apparently deciding Absol would enjoy her company for a bit while he ate. "Serena mentioned that you seemed interested in the Performance that Aria was doing on TV earlier today. There's definitely nobody better to watch than the Kalos Queen. I can understand why you would be impressed."

Absol narrowed his eyes as he continued to eat his food. Sure, the trainer on the box with the lights had appeared to be doing something interesting, but Absol wasn't exactly impressed. He was sure that he could move better than those Pokemon she'd been working with. That is, if he was completely healthy. He'd been a fairly quick moving Pokemon before he'd injured his legs. If he'd had some practice, he could do far better routines than that Delphox could. He supposed he'd have to work with a human if he was to do that, though. Perhaps that girl...

"I'm sure Serena mentioned that she's quite a successful Performer as well," the Pokemon nurse added. "She actually nearly beat Aria in the most recent Masterclass. It was definitely a thrilling final between those two."

Absol raised his head at that, unable to disguise his interest. Of course, he knew that the girl had mentioned doing these performances a few times, but for the most part, he didn't really know what she'd been talking about until today, with seeing the one on that box with the pictures. He was somewhat curious to see the things that she could do. He wondered if she might be willing to teach him a couple of things once his legs healed up a bit.

Maybe the nurse could tell that Absol was having these thoughts, or maybe she simply thought there was some kind of connection between him and the girl. Regardless, her next words piqued his interest, and he couldn't help but look at the woman curiously as she spoke. "You know, Absol, Serena definitely seems to care about you quite a bit. If you're interested in performances, I'm sure you and her..." She trailed off, watching Absol with a bit of a hesitant look. For a few moments, she said nothing else, and she and Absol just looked at one another, the latter having finished his food by now. Finally, the woman stood, picking up the bowl next to Absol. "Serena is nothing like that man who hurt you, Absol. Some humans...are worth being around." With that, she turned around, heading out the door quietly as Absol watched her.

For a few minutes, Absol sat quietly on his bed, staring at the door that the nurse had walked through. He growled, feeling a little frustrated as he tried to understand what she'd been saying to him. The girl...Serena. Absol felt a warmth deep inside, and he considered what the pink-haired woman had said. She was right, Absol couldn't deny that. Serena was definitely very different from that Pokemon Hunter. What did that mean, though? She was kind, helpful, caring...

"Absol," he growled, pawing at his face, feeling a strange sense of discomfort. He felt so uneasy, but not necessarily in a bad way. He felt somewhat happy, but he wasn't quite sure why, and he was a little frustrated, and even embarrassed, because of it. "Sol..."

His legs were starting to itch again, and suddenly, Absol felt very restless. He had the urge to move, the urge to get off of this bed. He'd rested long enough. Sure, he knew that he probably wasn't quite ready to exert himself like he might've been able to back when he was in the wild, but there was no reason why he couldn't at least test his legs out. From the way that Pokemon nurse had been talking, he'd been recovering fairly well. At some point, he was going to have to take the next step, both figuratively and literally. Why not now?

Another few minutes passed, as Absol continued to think. Why was it that he felt this urge to get moving? It seemed as though the thoughts of Serena, and what the nurse had been saying, had brought this on. Did he want to go so that he could see her? These thoughts confused him. Did he truly find comfort in being around a human? After all that had happened to him, he was actually drawn to this girl. It was so...calming. As much as he'd grown to despise humans, here was one who gave him hope. The compassion she had shown him had given him the strength to fight through his pain.

These thoughts finally decided it for Absol. The urge to move, the urge to walk, the urge...to see Serena. He wanted to do it all, and he had no interest in waiting. Was he fully recovered? He was well aware that he wasn't, and he knew he may never be fully recovered, but he couldn't wait. He needed the fresh air again. He'd been locked up inside long enough with that Pokemon Hunter, and he had no interest in staying in this room at the moment.

"Sol."

It was slow at first. In fact, it probably took Absol a whole minute to just manoeuvre himself so that his front paws were dangling over the edge of the bed in preparation to drop down. He was a bit nervous as he turned his head, glancing back at his hind legs. They weren't anything like they were after his escape from the Hunter, but Absol could see that they looked weak and somewhat awkward. It didn't change anything, though. Absol wasn't going to let nerves stop him from testing himself. He had more determination than that.

Finally, he braced himself, and began to shift forward, careful not to strain his legs and essentially just shimmying forward with his torso, until he had managed to get himself far enough forward so that his front legs were touching the floor next to his bed. With his front paws now touching the floor, all Absol needed to do, was put a little bit of weight on his back legs. Again, he felt a little bit of nervousness, but he pushed forward, thinking of Serena sitting by his side, day after day.

He brought his left leg forward first, very slowly, bracing himself for the pain. It wasn't painful, though. At least, it wasn't quite what he had been bracing for. He felt some tightness and a bit of numbness, but he was able to awkwardly slide his left leg forward a bit. He then brought his right leg forward a bit as well, feeling the same tightness in that leg. Overall, it didn't seem too bad, though, and Absol decided to just push forward completely. He moved a little quicker, sliding his back left foot onto the side of the bed, putting a bit of pressure on it, before lifting his back right leg up, and then pushing forward.

That was when Absol felt it, a sharp, stinging pain shooting up from his back legs as they hit the ground. He immediately grimaced, wondering if he'd made a mistake by doing this. His legs seemed to buzz with pain, and he stood there, very still, hoping it would stop after a moment, and hoping he'd be able to keep going.

Luckily, it did pass, and a moment later, Absol was sighing in relief, even able to lift each of his legs up and then put them back down, putting a little pressure on them. There was a bit of a dull pain as he did so, but it was manageable, and he wouldn't let it hold him back. He was ready to move, and he knew he could do it.

"Sol." Absol took a deep breath, and slowly walked forward, limping just a little bit. He definitely wasn't going to be winning any races very soon, but he was happy to be on his feet again, even if his legs were stiff and sore.

When he reached the door of the room, he wondered if the Pokemon nurse was going to try to stop him, and decided he needed to be quiet if he was to have any chance of getting outside. He raised his head up a bit, listening for any signs of movement outside, and after hearing nothing for a few moments, he angled his horn towards the doorknob and poked at it, trying to turn it to open the door. It was quite awkward, and Absol was becoming increasingly frustrated as he fiddled with it for over a minute, but finally, the Disaster Pokemon managed to open the door, and luckily without drawing the nurse to him.

Absol poked his head into the small hallway once the door was open, and he heard no noise but the ones coming from what he suspected was the front of this building, where the humans likely gathered. He supposed he was going to have to go past the gathered humans, but he hoped they would be too busy to notice him. As long as the nurse didn't see him, he'd be able to get outside.

With that, he began to move, limping along the hallway and up to the door that led to the gathering place for the humans. Absol was worried he'd have to fiddle with the door again, but luckily, this door just needed to be pulled open, and it had an easier handle to grab with his horn. He slowly pulled it open, listening carefully for any voices that might signal the end of his little journey, and upon hearing nothing but the other humans, he reached his paw forward and held the door open so he could walk through.

When he stepped out, he found himself behind some kind of desk, hearing the voices of humans on the other side. Knowing that if the pink-haired nurse was there or not, this was his best chance to go, he wasted no time in making his way around the desk, immediately noticing the doors up ahead. He could see a few humans sitting around, a couple of them eating food and most of them talking. None of them seemed to notice him, though, as he made his way to the front doors, as quickly as his stiff legs would allow.

Fortunately for Absol, a trainer was entering just as he reached the doors, and he was able to easily slip through. Once outside, he sighed in relief, enjoying the light breeze that blew through his fur. The Sun was still up, but Absol could see that it had begun its descent, and that before too long, it would be dark. If he wanted to find Serena, he didn't have very long before the task got a little more difficult. And he didn't exactly know where to start.

Once again, though, luck was on Absol's side, as he noticed a few trainers walking on the sidewalk in front of him. There were two females and two males. They looked to be about Serena's age, and Absol wondered if they'd be able to lead him in the right direction. He decided to follow, while keeping a safe distance just to he safe. They didn't seem to be walking too fast, so it wouldn't be too hard on his legs.

For a few minutes, the trainers didn't really say much, and Absol was beginning to wonder if he'd made a mistake in following them. He noticed one of the girls looking back, almost like she knew she was being followed, but luckily Absol was able to slip out of view and remain unnoticed. At one point, she stopped walking completely and looked back for a few seconds before one of the others called out to her.

"Come on, Dawn," the stocky male shouted. "Ash, Serena and Clemont will be training pretty hard. Let's not fall behind too much."

"Right, sorry," the girl called back, quickly turning around and running to catch up with the others.

Absol stared at the group for a few moments as they continued to walk along, feeling his heart race with excitement. Serena...these humans were going to see her.

Shaking his head at his strange thoughts, Absol quickly got moving again so that he could follow these trainers. Of course, he wasn't truly excited about seeing a human. He was letting the excitement of being outside cloud his thoughts. However, he did enjoy the company of this girl, Serena. Perhaps he felt he owed her, or perhaps he was curious about those performances. Regardless, Absol now knew where to go to reach her, and desperately wanted to get there, no matter how sore his legs might get.

* * *

"Rowlet, use Peck! Pikachu, deflect with Iron Tail!"

Clemont was impressed as he watched Rowlet shoot into the air from his side of the battlefield, flapping his wings hard and fixing a surprisingly serious look to his face. The Grass Quill Pokemon flew high above the battlefield, showing the increased speed and power that could only come from the intense training that a skilled trainer could put him through. He hovered near the ceiling, somewhat hidden in the bright lights up above as he picked his spot. Then, he dove, aiming straight for Pikachu, who had his tail straight, ready to strike back.

"Hoo!" Rowlet hooted loudly as he built up his speed, narrowing his eyes as he dove. "Koooo!"

As soon as Rowlet had closed the gap by about half the distance, Pikachu made his move. "Pika!" he shouted loudly, leaping into the air, Rowlet drawing closer, not slowing down one bit. Then, just as Rowlet was a few feet away, beak glowing in a white light, Pikachu spun around, his tail also glowing in a white light. "Chuuu PIKA!" he yelled, putting all of the force he could into the attack.

For a relatively inexperienced Pokemon, Rowlet did fairly well. He and Pikachu strained against each other, a few sparks flying out from the impacting attacks. But ultimately, Pikachu proved too strong as he managed to put a little more into his attack, driving Rowlet back a little so the Iron Tail could continue going, striking the Grass Quill Pokemon in the chest and sending him spinning into the air while Pikachu landed softly on the battlefield below.

"Good job, Pikachu," Ash called out, making his way to the centre of the battlefield, once he could see that Rowlet had righted himself. "And Rowlet," he called up to the owl Pokemon, "you're getting a lot faster and a lot stronger. You did really well considering how much experience Pikachu has."

"Hoo!" Rowlet hooted happily as he drifted down, before finally resting on Ash's shoulder. "Koooo," he added, a little softer, his head drooping a little. "Hoooo..."

"Hey, don't go to sleep, now," Ash said, looking a little frustrated as he looked at Rowlet. "We've still got a lot of training to-"

"Maybe you should take a break, Ash," Clemont interrupted, avoiding eye contact as he spoke up, a little nervous about telling Ash to stop. Nobody seemed to have any success with doing it lately, and he was really starting to get out of hand. The night before, Ash had stayed out until past midnight with his training, and Clemont could see that his Pokemon were pretty tired. Well, Rowlet always seemed tired, but even Pikachu looked a little out of it.

Ash was silent for a moment, and Clemont knew that he didn't like the suggestion, but the inventor hoped his friend was at least taking a look at Pikachu and seeing that his Pokemon was looking pretty tired. "I don't know," he finally said, "we've got a lot of work to do. We're still nowhere near where we need to be. If we want to be ready for our match against Shalour, we've gotta make sure we're a lot better prepared. We need to be a lot faster, and a lot stronger."

Clemont sighed, deciding to finally look up at Ash, adjusting his glasses as he did so. "Ash, you've been at it for hours. At least wait for Trevor to show up. Maybe we can get another training session in when he gets here with the others. We can go and see how Serena's doing in the meantime."

Ash didn't look like he really liked that idea, which actually frustrated Clemont a little, considering Ash would likely never have hesitated about seeing how Serena was doing before the IPL loss. He really hadn't been himself lately, and it wasn't a lot of fun. Clemont hoped that pulling him away from this overly intensive training might bring back a little bit of the normal Ash.

"Come on," Clemont said, picking up his backpack that was at the side of the battlefield, "you know Serena's working pretty hard as well. Maybe she needs a little bit of help from us. Who better to give her advice about Pokemon than you?"

Clemont could see that Ash had his doubts about what he might be able to offer to Serena, but at least the raven-haired trainer was picking up his backpack as well, while Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder. "I guess we have a little bit of time. But as soon as Trevor gets here, we need to do some more training. Remember, Korrina's got a Lucario that can mega evolve, and I bet her teammates are pretty strong as well. We don't want to be embarrassed again."

"We won't be," Clemont assured his friend, smiling awkwardly. He kind of felt like this new attitude towards training was a little embarrassing, but he wasn't going to tell that to Ash. At least not now. "We know we need to work harder, but like Professor Sycamore said, we don't want to work _too_ hard."

"You sound like Nurse Joy," Ash muttered, as the two of them made their way off of the battlefield and started walking towards the exit of the training room. Serena would likely be practising on the stage, as it had been empty when they'd arrived earlier.

They walked in silence until for a few moments as they approached the door and then entered the hallway, making their way down towards where the stage was. Clemont felt uneasy, as he could see Ash constantly looking back, almost like he was already regretting leaving the training room, simply because he'd missed out on about three minutes of training.

"Ash, you didn't lose because you're a bad trainer," Clemont said quietly, as Ash faced forward once more while they continued walking. "It was a bit of bad luck. And that connection with Greninja is hard for you to maintain. It might be as powerful as mega evolution, but it's definitely not the same. Anton definitely wasn't feeling the hits that Scizor was taking. You just need to relax and battle the way you always do in your next one."

Clemont was hoping for at least some kind of answer from Ash, even if it was a minimal acknowledgement of what he'd said. Even if it was some kind of angry retort. Somehow, it was even more frustrating that Ash simply ignored his words, and continued walking ahead, clearly having no interest in talking about his problems, or what might be worrying him when it came to his battles. He really was a different person from the trainer Clemont had met when the school first opened up. It was kind of scary to see, and definitely saddening. Clemont really hoped Ash would see how foolish he was acting soon enough, and he knew he couldn't give up on trying to get his friend back to normal.

They finally reached the end of the hallway, having said nothing more, and the two of them quietly entered the theatre, careful not to make any noise in case Serena was in the middle of a routine. When they stepped in, Clemont could see that was in fact the case, as both he and Ash looked down to the stage and noticed Serena with her three Pokemon all out in front of her, as she began to call out orders.

"Braixen, use Hidden Power! Pancham, use Arm Thrust!" Serena called out, thrusting her arm forward with the order.

"BraiiiXEN!" Braixen shouted, leaping back, and then launching the blue orb high into the air, spinning it as she threw it, so that it spun in circles as it flew up above the other two Pokemon.

"Cham!" Pancham called out soon after, taking a few quick steps back, before taking a running jump and quickly approaching the spinning, blue orb. His fist glowed white as he pulled his arm back, and then he slammed it forward, striking the blue orb hard, causing it to split into about a dozen others, which spun out towards the seats of the theatre.

"Now, Sylveon, use Swift!" Serena ordered quickly, pointing out to the remnants Braixen's Hidden Power, which were spinning out above the seats.

Clemont took a quick glance to his side, seeing Ash watching the little routine closely, eyes shining as he watched Sylveon's stars strike the pieces of Hidden Power, exploding against them and causing blue fireworks with golden sparks shooting out from where the attacks made contact. As much as he'd like to be training, Ash was clearly still interested in Serena's performances, which gave Clemont a little bit of hope.

The two of them watched Serena practice for a few more minutes, as she seemed to continue to try and perfect this particular routine. She tried various combinations to make it work, including having Braixen use scratch on her Hidden Power attack, rather than Pancham's Arm Thrust, or having Braixen use Fire Blast instead of Sylveon's Swift. Then she seemed to try to change up using Hidden Power all together, and had Pancham hit Sylveon's Swift out above the seats, for Braixen to hit with Fire Blast, or Pancham's Dark Pulse.

It all seemed to work in Clemont's opinion, but he could definitely tell that Serena was frustrated. It seemed as though she didn't like any of the routines she'd worked out, or at least felt that something was missing from each and that whatever she was trying wasn't working. Each attempt seemed to frustrate her more and more, and Clemont could see her Pokemon growing more and more tired with each try. It was all reminding him far too much of Ash, and his overly intensive training.

Clemont was about to comment on Serena's training, when he heard the door to the theatre open up behind them, and noticed Shauna, Tierno, Trevor and Dawn walking in. As they made their way in, Clemont thought he noticed a white shape moving out of the corner of his eye, but he was quickly distracted as Shauna shoved the egg that they were caring for in his face.

"Your turn," she said cheerfully as he took it, giving her an exasperated look. He was pretty sure he'd watched the egg the whole day yesterday, but he didn't bother arguing. "How's Serena doing?" she asked, as the others gathered around, Trevor and Dawn taking a seat, while Tierno stood between Clemont and Ash.

"It looks like she's trying to perfect this one routine, but she can't find whatever feels right for her," Ash said, pointing out what Clemont had noticed. "I guess she seems to think that something is missing, although it still looks really good."

Just as he said this, Serena once again repeated the routine with Pancham striking the Hidden Power above the seats for Sylveon to hit with Swift, creating the blue and yellow fireworks. Again, Clemont was impressed, as were the others, but he could sort of see why Serena felt something was missing. While her routine was definitely flashy, it wasn't exactly...unique. At least, considering some of the other routines Serena had done before, this one seemed to lack the unique twist that she was sometimes able to add. It seemed somewhat limited. Perhaps it had something to do with...

"I wonder if it has something to do with the limited moves she has to work with," Dawn suddenly pointed out, saying exactly what Clemont was just starting to wonder about. The rest of the group looked at her curiously, while Serena appeared to stop her practising for a moment down at the stage, talking to her Pokemon. "It seems like she's stuck because she's only got a few moves she can work with, because she only has three Pokemon," Dawn explained, looking down towards Serena. "I know that even I sometimes feel stuck, and I've got six Pokemon."

"That could be it," Ash said, tapping his chin in thought, exchanging a look with Pikachu on his shoulder. "Maybe we should loan her one of our Pokemon?" He sounded doubtful, almost like he knew Serena would likely decline that offer.

Clemont was about to suggest at least trying to have Serena work with some different Pokemon to test the theory, when he was distracted by a white shape out of the corner of his eye again. He blinked a few times, looking in the direction of where he'd seen it, out towards the centre aisles of seats, but he couldn't see anything. _Maybe something's on my glasses,_ he thought, as he took them off and quickly rubbed the lenses.

A moment later, he could hear steps coming up from down below, and he quickly put his glasses back on, noticing Serena making her way up the steps towards the group. "Hi guys," she said tiredly, leaning against one of the seats as her three Pokemon came up next to her. "I guess you saw my performances, huh? Not so good, are they?"

"That's not true at all!" Shauna said forcefully, stepping forward and grabbing Serena's hands. "Stop being like that, Serena. You know your performances are great. It's just a bit of a rut."

Serena awkwardly took her hands back, and then looked towards her Pokemon. "It's just that I'm stuck on some of my routines. I feel like they're really similar to a lot of things I've done before. I'm struggling to come up with new moves."

"We were just wondering about that," Ash admitted, stepping forward. "Maybe you should try using one of our Pokemon, and seeing what you could do with them?" Clemont noticed him give an awkward look towards the exit to the theatre, clearly wondering about getting back to training, but at least he was deciding to help Serena out instead.

"Thanks, Ash," Serena said, smiling a little, "but I think I need to do this on my own. I can't beat Gabby if I rely on Pokemon that aren't even mine."

"Well why don't you try a few more times, and maybe we'll notice something that can help you out," Shauna suggested. "Maybe we can come up with an idea for a new Pokemon you could catch."

Serena nodded, looking at her Pokemon once more. "I guess it's worth a try. Ready to give it another go, guys?" Her Pokemon, although looking fairly tired, all gave determined nods, and before too long, they were all heading back down to the stage.

Once again, Serena tried the routine that Clemont and Ash had seen when they'd first arrived, with Pancham punching the Hidden Power out towards the seats, and Sylveon sending out a Swift attack to create the fireworks. Again, it looked impressive, but Clemont and the others could see that something could definitely be added.

Serena tried a few more times, again doing various different techniques to make it work, such as using Fire Blast, Dark Pulse and Fairy Wind in various combinations to strike the Hidden Power forward. Serena appeared to be growing increasingly frustrated as she did this, not finding anything that seemed to work according to her, although Clemont and the others thought a couple of the routines worked fairly well.

"I think I'll just try one more time," Serena called up, now looking pretty wiped out herself. "We'll try again tomorrow. We need to think about what else we can add."

The group then waited as Serena prepared to do her routine one last time, her Pokemon taking their positions on stage in front of her. Then, she began.

"Braixen, Hidden Power! Pancham, follow that up with Arm Thrust! Sylveon, get ready!" Serena called out quickly, looking to each of her Pokemon as she made her orders.

"Braixen brai!" Braixen shouted, as she jumped back, did a little twirl, and then launched the blue orb up into the air. Pancham was quick to act next, as he ran forward, flipped through the air, and then struck the Hidden Power with all of his might, giving it the best strike yet.

Everyone watched as the blue orb broke apart, breaking into dozens of pieces as they all seemed to spread out above the seats of the theatre, looking like dozens of little moons, lighting the theatre up. That almost seemed to be the most impressive part to Clemont, with Pancham having managed to perfect his Arm Thrust, and Braixen having provided the perfect Hidden Power. However, this was the part where Serena seemed to be stuck.

"Sylveon," she started, looking towards the fairy type, and then out towards the pieces of Hidden Power, "use Sw-"

"Sol!"

Everyone, including Serena and her Pokemon, jumped at the sudden sound that seemed to come from the centre of the theatre. Clemont quickly looked to the source of the noise, and his eyes widened, seeing the white fur, which he knew must've been the white shape he'd seen earlier. It was an Absol, standing up awkwardly on one of the seats. The horn on the top of his head was glowing bright pink, and suddenly, he spun his head, looking up towards the pieces of Hidden Power up above. The Psycho Cut attack spun through the air with incredible speed, slicing right through one piece, and then another, and another, eventually going through all the orbs on one side, before Absol sent out another to strike the orbs on the opposite side. The pieces all seemed to hover in midair for a few moments, with a pink light at their centre, where they'd been split. Then, all at once, they exploded, showering the theatre with pink and blue dust, which sprinkled onto Absol's white fur, and glowed in the theatre lights.

For a moment, nobody said anything, as everyone simply stared at the surprise act at the centre of the theatre. The Absol even seemed surprised as well, both admiring his work, and then looking nervously at all everyone watching him, before he rested his gaze on Serena. Clemont had no idea what had just happened, but he couldn't help but clap along with the others.

"Serena...is that..." Ash started, once they all stopped clapping. He was looking at the Absol with recognition in his eyes. Clemont suddenly realized that this was likely the Absol that Serena had been taking care of, and the one that she and Ash had saved from that Pokemon Hunter. A quick look at its legs confirmed it, as Clemont could tell that they were definitely not healed.

"Yeah...it...Absol, why are you here?" Serena called out, as she started to walk forward, making her way up towards where the Disaster Pokemon was.

"Sol...absol..." Absol growled out, sounding pretty uncomfortable. Serena gave him a comforting smile, though, and that seemed to calm him down a bit as she approached him. "Sol."

"Did you come to see what my performances were like?" Serena asked, as she sat down in the seat next to the one that Absol was standing on. "Did you like the ones you saw on TV earlier?"

Absol stared back at her for a moment, clearly a little uncomfortable about this. Clemont had a feeling the discomfort had more to do with some kind of stubbornness, though. From what Ash and Serena had told him, this Absol wasn't a fan of humans. This apparent interest in performances was probably quite a strange new experience. However, his dislike for humans didn't seem to extend to Serena, as he looked back at the Performer, and made no sign that he was going to attempt to leave. And then, after a few moments, he gave a very small, somewhat awkward nod.

Serena smiled widely at that, and reached her hand out, placing it on Absol's neck, and gently stroking his fur. "You look like you know what you're doing when it comes to performances, Absol. Maybe...you can help us out from time to time?"

Absol looked a little surprised at that, and glanced back at the rest of the group, who was watching all of this in silence, before he looked back at Serena. He gave an awkward little nod, but as he did so, he seemed to wince, as he looked at his back legs. He managed to get down to the floor in front of the seats, and lie down, but his legs were clearly causing him some discomfort. However, despite Serena's concerned look, and his own wincing, Absol looked up again, and nodded once more. "Ab absol."

Serena paused for a moment, clearly not sure what she should do. Clemont supposed she was probably going to catch Absol, but instead, she just kneeled down on the floor next to the Disaster Pokemon. "It's a deal, Absol. But first, before you get to be a full time Performer, you need to recover. So for now, your priority is to get better."

"Sol." Absol nodded, sounding pretty serious. Apparently that was a deal he was willing to make, and from what Clemont had seen, this Absol had some potential. If he could recover properly, he'd definitely be able to add some variety to Serena's performances. And today, considering how bad it had been at first, at least from what Ash had mentioned, Absol had passed his first step on the road to recovery.

 **Author's Note:**

So no, Absol isn't a member of Serena's team quite yet...not officially. Will we get to that point? I do wonder...how much of a troll job would it be if I had Gabby swoop in and take it? No need to worry about (ha ha...Dawn-ism) about _that._

Other than that...Ash and Serena are kind of moody, although Serena's a little better off with Absol as a little beacon of hope for her. This little stretch of extra moody Ash and Serena won't be too too long, though. The next two chapters have...stuff...but then we get to more IPL fun. Then, I think, everything heats up big time. All in good time, though. By that I mean...definitely not a month between chapters.

See you next time, wonderful readers. You won't be waiting nearly as long for chapter 25.


	25. Get Off Your Grass!

**Author's Note:**

I know...I said it wouldn't be a month...and then it was a month. I'll explain myself. I had my final exams for university this month, and of course, that had me pretty busy, among other things that came up. But now...those are DONE! Written, passed, and never to be done again. Now, this isn't going to be my job...I mean, I'd love to get money for this, but that's not happening. But I can definitely at least get back to once a week and probably a bit more. Lumiose University is back on track! So...let's get to it.

 **Chapter 25: Get Off Your Grass!**

Ash's eyes were starting to feel fairly heavy as Yuzo's lecture dragged on, despite it only being about twenty minutes long up until this point in the class. The lecture was about moves learned when Pokemon theoretically "levelled up" as Yuzo called it. Ash didn't really understand it, and he didn't quite agree with the idea of Pokemon having levels. He'd always thought that if the trainer and Pokemon simply worked hard together and trusted one another, that would get them far enough. He supposed that he should have been paying more attention, though, as he might be able to pick up on something that could help him get stronger for his next IPL match, which was coming up in a couple of weeks in Shalour City.

He gave his head a little shake, and glanced at Pikachu, who was comfortably curled up on the empty seat to Ash's left. In front of the seat was Ash's backpack, where Rowlet was sleeping, hooting softly as he did so. Ash felt a bit guilty as he looked at them, knowing he'd been pushing them both pretty hard, along with the others. He'd been pushing Pikachu especially hard, though, as he planned to use the electric mouse in his next IPL battle. He was tempted to try using Greninja again, but some part of him was almost nervous to do so. _Pikachu can do it,_ Ash thought confidently. _He'll help us get back on track._

Ash brought his attention back to the front of the class, deciding that he'd at least try to focus more on the lecture. He knew he probably looked pretty bad compared to Clemont, who was at this class, along with Trevor, as Agatha and Flint had arrange a training session for the Battle Team after their classes, and they all needed to get there on time afterwards. He was carefully noting down Yuzo's words in a chewed up notebook. The reason for his chewed up notebook was sitting in another empty seat next to him, eating something else, while Trevor looked over nervously. Ash didn't really know what it was that Turtwig was eating, but he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to know.

For a few more minutes, Ash focused his attention down below, and listened to the lecture that Yuzo was giving. He could see that a few other students were a little less interested in this lecture as some of the others, much like him, and he wondered if Yuzo was going to at least give them something more interesting to do before the lecture ended. While some of his points were interesting, Ash had never trained Pokemon in this way, and he didn't think it would change how he trained now.

After about five more minutes of the lecture, Yuzo finally paused and looked around the room, smiling a little as he seemed to notice the somewhat bored faces of the students looking back at him. "Well," he said, stepping back and going to stand behind his desk, where he picked up a clipboard, "I hope that lesson wasn't too boring for all of you, but it is important for you to understand different ways of looking at how to train Pokemon." He then paused as he glanced down at his clipboard, which had a sheet of paper on it, which Ash assumed had some kind of list on it. "For the rest of the class, however, I've decided to check up on how some of you are doing with your starter Pokemon that you received a few weeks ago. I'll be checking up on each of you in the coming weeks, so you can better prepare for your final exams at the end of the semester." The class immediately grew quite noisy as students began whispering to each other, many clearly nervous about showing their progress.

Ash glanced over at Clemont, doing his best to hold back a laugh as he noticed his friend immediately reach over and try to stop Turtwig from chewing on another notebook. "Stop it, Turtwig! You have to pay attention!" Clemont hissed as Turtwig avoided him. "We want to be ready for this if Yuzo calls on us."

"You and Turtwig should be ready for this," Ash said confidently, looking down to where Yuzo was clearing space at the front of the class. "He looked like he was doing pretty well yesterday when you were training him with Chespin."

Clemont shrugged, turning to Ash, deciding to not bother with Turtwig for the moment, while Trevor seemed to be bracing himself by having a pep talk with Mudkip. "I guess so," he said nervously, "but Chespin did steal a bunch of Serena's pokepuffs yesterday. I'm not sure if he was really battling very well."

"Tur turtwig!" Turtwig suddenly cried out, leaping into Clemont's lap and looking somewhat indignant as he glared up at his trainer. "Turtwig!"

"I think Turtwig thinks it was a good training battle," Ash pointed out, chuckling at the look on the energetic grass type's face.

"Do you think you and Rowlet are ready for this?" Clemont asked, looking at the still sleeping owl in Ash's backpack. "I know you've been training a lot, but with Pikachu and Greninja being so much more experienced, it must be pretty hard for Rowlet to keep up."

Ash shook his head, reaching down and picking up Rowlet from his backpack. The Grass Quill Pokemon gave a startled hoot as he was woken up, but he quickly turned his head and saw Ash, and calmed down at the sight of his trainer. "Rowlet will be fine. He knows he has to work hard just like the rest of us if we're going to do a better job competing in the IPL. We're not getting embarrassed again."

Clemont looked a little nervous as he looked back at Ash, and the latter could tell that his friend was still a little uneasy about heavy duty training lately. That was something to worry about later, though, as at that moment, Ash heard Yuzo calling out from the front of the class, having cleared away a couple of tables and the podium so that there was enough space for what Ash assumed, and hoped, was for a battle of some sort.

"All right, everyone," he said, as the whispering of the students stopped while everyone looked down to the front of the class, "what we're going to be doing, is a practice battle for randomly selected students over the next few classes, until everyone has had one. As I said before, this will give everyone an idea of the progress they are making with their starter Pokemon and using what you've learned in class, you will be able to focus your training based afterwards."

Ash looked around at some of the other students, and could see their nervous looks. Despite this being an advanced class, it seemed as though people were still fairly uncomfortable with their battling skills tested out in front of everyone else. He supposed that it was likely going to be a challenging test with it being an advanced class, and a glance at Rowlet, who had once again fallen asleep, made him a little nervous as well.

After answering a few questions and getting his list of names, Yuzo made his way over to the side of his makeshift battlefield and then looked down at his clipboard. "So, here I have a randomly assigned order for you all to battle in. What you will be doing, is battling against Clembot, much like in your screening battles, and how you will be battling come exam time. Clembot will be using the starter Pokemon with a type advantage over yours, from the same region. The battle will conclude once one side is unable to battle, or after five minutes." With that, he smiled, pointed down to his list and looked up to where Ash, Trevor and Clemont were sitting. "The first name on the list is...Clemont! You and Turtwig will be battling against Clembot and Chimchar." As he said this, the robot, Clemont's design and now opponent, entered the classroom, standing on the left side of the mini battlefield.

"Oh no..." Clemont whispered, giving Ash a nervous look. "Why do _I_ have to go first?"

Ash just smiled as Clemont nervously got to his feet, picking up Turtwig as he did so. "Don't worry, Clemont. You two will be fine. Turtwig can beat any old Chimchar."

"Yeah," Trevor agreed, smiling, although he seemed more relieved about not going first himself. "Clemont, your Turtwig is probably stronger than Tierno's Chimchar, and I bet _his_ Chimchar is stronger than this one will be."

Clemont didn't look so convinced, and was fairly slow as he made his way down with Turtwig. However, he seemed to grow a little more confident from the cheers and applause that the rest of the class was giving him as he took his place opposite Clembot.

"All right, Turtwig," Clemont said loudly, heard fairly clearly from where Ash was sitting, "we can do this. I know you don't always listen to me, but let's win this one, all right?"

Turtwig looked up at his trainer curiously for a moment, and Ash was slightly worried that he was about to suddenly run off and start eating something. Fortunately, though, he didn't, and instead, he narrowed his eyes and nodded confidently. "Turt turtwig!"

Clemont smiled at that, looking somewhat relieved, and then placed Turtwig down in front of him, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon quickly turning around and stepping forward to stare down Clembot, who was aiming a robotic arm forward. "Chimchar, it's time for battle!" the robot suddenly called out, as a pokeball suddenly shot out and opened up, revealing the Chimp Pokemon, who definitely looked a lot more serious than the dancing one that Tierno had.

"Maybe I was wrong about it being weaker than Tierno's Chimchar," Trevor muttered nervously, as Chimchar suddenly started to hit its chest, glaring at Turtwig with puffs of smoke coming from its nostrils.

Ash bit his lip, feeling a little nervous at the sight as well, but he was happy to see that Turtwig wasn't backing down. In fact, he could see that Turtwig looked almost as fired up as his opponent, and a moment later, Ash knew why.

"You get a basket of pokepuffs if you win this one, Turtwig," Clemont called out, clenching his fists as Yuzo positioned himself in the middle, ready to start the battle.

A few seconds later, Yuzo raised his hand, and then waved it down, calling out, "Let the battle begin!"

"Chimchar, use Double Team!" Clembot ordered quickly, pointing forward with his robotic arm, looking surprisingly menacing.

"Turtwig, don't panic," Clemont said quickly, looking around at the copies surrounding the battlefield. He quickly looked towards the right side of the field and pointed. "Use Leech Seed over there!" the inventor shouted suddenly, surprising Ash with how quickly he made the order. _Usually he's a little slower to come up with a strategy,_ Ash thought, narrowing his eyes.

Turtwig hesitated for a moment, looking a little overwhelmed by the copies of Chimchar spread out before him, but managed to recover and aim his head towards a couple of copies to his right. Then, a seed burst forth, striking one of the copies, immediately making it disappear. Turtwig then fired another, making another copy disappear. As he started to fire a third, Clembot made his move.

"Now, Chimchar, attack Turtwig from close range with Fury Swipes!" Clembot ordered, a shape immediately darting forward from the middle of the group of copies.

"Turtwig, stop it with Bite!" Clemont shouted quickly.

"Twig!" Turtwig called out, opening his jaws wide, just as Chimchar leaped at him, swinging forward with one of his arms. Ash felt pity for Chimchar, who yelped in surprise at having his arm suddenly bit into by Turtwig, but also amusement, as he wondered whether or not Turtwig was pretending Chimchar's arm was a notebook or something. The sudden grab seemed to freeze Chimchar, who looked nervously at the grass type that now had him somewhat trapped.

Clemont didn't waste any time in ordering his next attack. "Now, use that Leech Seed one more time!" he ordered, and Turtwig looked somewhat giddy as he lowered his head and fired the seed into Chimchar's chest, where it broke open and started to cover the Chimp Pokemon in vines that wrapped around his arms and chest, allowing Turtwig to let go from his Bite and jump back, watching as Chimchar attempted to break free from his restraints.

"Twig tur tur turtwig!" Turtwig happily chirped out, while Chimchar squirmed around, looking increasingly frustrated.

"Chimchar, use Ember on the vines and free yourself," Clembot ordered, after a brief moment of hesitation, clearly surprised about Clemont's quick counter. If a robot _could_ be surprised.

As Clemont quickly responded by having Turtwig hit Chimchar with a well timed Tackle attack, Ash turned to Trevor, who seemed to be watching the battle with admiration in his eyes. "Clemont seems to be battling a bit differently, don't you think?" Ash asked.

Trevor narrowed his eyes and leaned forward a bit, watching silently as Chimchar finally broke free of his restraints, only to be tackled again, followed by a quick Bite. Chimchar managed to land a couple of hits with Fury Swipes after that, but Clemont now seemed to be in control, forcing him back by having Turtwig use Leech Seed, which was barely dodged. Clembot's only apparent option was to use Ember, although Turtwig was easily dodging it each time.

"He's battling a bit like you, actually," Trevor finally said with a laugh. He's forcing Clembot and Chimchar to battle in close, and then Turtwig is able to quickly attack and force Chimchar back after that. "It might not work if Turtwig was evolved, but since it's fairly quick now, it kind of works."

Ash frowned at that, watching as Turtwig darted forward and hit Chimchar with another Tackle. It kind of reminded him of when Torterra had been a Turtwig, and speed had actually been his strongest attribute. But was Clemont actually using a battle style inspired by him? Ash supposed it was similar to how he might use Pikachu and Greninja in battle, by using their speed to control the battle in close, while also having distance attacks such as Electro-Ball and Water Shuriken to force opponents to keep moving. What was the point, though? Ash had been losing so much lately...why would Clemont want to emulate him?

"Chimchar, use Ember at Turtwig's feet, and then use Fury Swipes!" Clembot suddenly ordered, snapping Ash's attention back to the Chimp Pokemon, who quickly got to his feet and fired about a dozen mini fireballs towards Turtwig, who was forced to jump back to avoid them. Clemont had no opportunity to order a counter attack as Chimchar quickly darted forward and started swiping away at Turtwig's face, causing the Tiny Leaf Pokemon to cry out in pain.

"Hang in there, Turtwig," Clemont called out to his Pokemon. "Use Leech Seed and then finish this with Tackle!"

"Twig!" Turtwig yelled, seemingly wincing from the pain of the mini claws hitting his face. He managed to fight through it, though, and lowered his head. Before Chimchar could get out of the way, the seed shot out and latched onto his head, the vines quickly spreading around him once more. "Tur...TWIG!" shouted again, jumping back quickly and then charging forward, sending Chimchar flying back so that it landed hard in front of Clembot.

The call was easy to make for Yuzo, who raised his hand towards Clemont. "Chimchar is unable to battle, so the winners are Clemont and Turtwig! Well done, both of you!" The class gave Clemont a quick round of applause as Clembot recalled Chimchar to his pokeball and then stood still, waiting for his next opponent, while Yuzo stepped up towards Clemont and Turtwig. "You did very well working with Turtwig, Clemont, and the two of you took advantage of Turtwig's speed while also neutralizing Chimchar's type advantage. One thing that I did notice, however, was Turtwig's hesitation when Clembot put a strategy in place and attacked with his own quick attacks."

Clemont nodded, looking thoughtfully at Turtwig, before glancing briefly at Ash and then returning his gaze to Yuzo. "That won't be a problem next time. Turtwig will be ready for anything, and so will I."

Yuzo nodded, smiling at that comment. "You'll have to be, as the next battle will be much more difficult." He directed his words to the whole class this time, and everyone seemed to lean forward with interest, wondering how an already difficult looking battle could become even harder once exam time came around. "For this battle, your Pokemon are battling the first stage of evolution for the starter Pokemon with the type advantage over them, however, in the next battle, the opponent will be evolved. It will be important to improve your strategies based on this battle and the experience you gain from it."

Ash nodded at that, glancing down at the sleeping Rowlet now in his lap. Rowlet was still so inexperienced with battling, and he definitely needed to "level up" as Yuzo would say when it came to this class. This battle was definitely important for him, and not just for this class, but for Ash's future battles as well.

* * *

When Clemont returned to his seat, Ash and Trevor were quick to congratulate him, while Pikachu and Mudkip congratulated Turtwig, who eyed a notebook sticking out of Clemont's backpack. While Yuzo called for the next student, the inventor sat down between his friends, sighing in relief at a fairly successful outing for his first battle with Turtwig.

"You and Turtwig were working really well together," Ash said, patting Clemont on the back. "I have to admit, I'm surprised at how quickly Turtwig responded to your orders. It seems like you two are already pretty close."

Clemont was about to nod, but at that moment he saw Turtwig pulling his notebook from his backpack and quickly reached down to pull it away. "Maybe not as close as you think," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at the sheepish look that Turtwig gave him.

Ash just laughed at that, glancing down at the front of the class where a girl was stepping up with a Cyndaquil, while Clembot called out a Totodile. He seemed only mildly interested in the battle beginning down there, and turned his attention once more to Clemont. "Trevor thought you were battling a bit like me down there. Is that what you were planning?"

Clemont copied Turtwig in giving his own sheepish grin this time, shrugging as he looked back at Ash. "I guess I've gotten to know some of your techniques," he admitted. "I knew it would be hard to win if Chimchar used his fire attacks, so I had to make sure it was hard for him to do that. Luckily, Turtwig was fast enough to make it work."

"These battles will be pretty tough for the final exam," Trevor chimed in, looking nervously at the battle between the girl with the Cyndaquil and Clembot with Totodile. Totodile seemed to be controlling the battle, hitting Cyndaquil with a Water Gun and Scratch attack in quick succession and Cyndaquil failing to avoid with a Smokescreen. "You did really well, Clemont, and it was still tough for Turtwig to get around some of Chimchar's moves."

Clemont nodded, thinking back to the battle. He'd managed to control the battle for the most part, but he definitely didn't have the same ability that Ash seemed to have in responding quickly to his opponents strategies. If he'd been a little quicker, Chimchar wouldn't have been able to land a few of the attacks that he had. Clembot probably missed a few chances to even use Ember on Turtwig a few times. There was no doubt that if Clemont battled that way in the final exam, he'd lose. If he wanted to win, and if he wanted to be as quick to adapt as someone like Ash, he still had work to do. He was definitely glad that he'd get a chance to train with Agatha and Flint later on.

As they watched the next couple of battles, with both trainers struggling and losing, Trevor seemed to grow pretty nervous, while Ash seemed to be glancing at Rowlet a lot, possibly frustrated with the owl sleeping rather than watching the battles. Again, Clemont felt uneasy at Ash's apparent frustration, wondering if his own battle would be the closest thing to an Ash-like battle he'd be seeing out of these practice battles.

With the third battle after Clemont's finally ending, this trainer actually managing to squeak out a win with their Treecko over a Torchic, Yuzo stepped forward and once again looked towards where Clemont and his friends were sitting. "And our next battle will be...Ash! He and Rowlet will be battling against a Pokemon likely unfamiliar to many of you. Litten, the fire type starter from the Alola region!"

Clemont saw Ash tense up in excitement at that, clearly interested in battling a new Pokemon. _At least that hasn't changed,_ Clemont thought, smiling a little as Ash stood up, Rowlet quickly waking up and flying up to sit on his trainer's shoulder while they made their way down to the mini battlefield at the front of the class, Pikachu trailing behind. Clemont heard the door at the back of the class opening behind him, but kept his gaze on the front of the class, assuming it was just a late student. The thought made him laugh, as Ash probably would've been late had Clemont not forced him away from training.

"Do you think Ash will be...well, _Ash_ , in this battle?" Trevor asked, looking at Clemont with a bit of nervousness in his eyes, bringing the latter's attention away from the front of th class.

Clemont shrugged at that. "I'm not sure. He's been a bit better the last few days, but he's definitely still making training too much of a priority. I hope Flint and Agatha don't do too much with our training session later on. I think Ash needs to take it easy with that."

"Well you don't know what we've got planned, do you Clemont?" a voice from behind suddenly said. He and Trevor both jumped up, gasping in fear as they turned around and saw a smirking Agatha behind them. "Oh dear, I don't look _that_ bad for my age, do I?" she asked, mock fear in her voice.

"What? Uh...no, I mean...sorry," Clemont stammered out, exchanging an awkward look with Trevor. "I was just...um..."

"You were talking about our training session, I presume?" Agatha pointed out, raising on eyebrow and sitting back in her seat. She started to fiddle with her cane, while Clemont heard Yuzo describing the Alola starter Pokemon to the class, as most were unfamiliar with them.

"Um...well we were just saying..." Trevor started, taking over for Clemont, who couldn't help but mix up his words when talking to Agatha. Despite all the good things Ash said about her, she was pretty intimidating.

Agatha waved her hand in front of her, stopping Trevor from speaking. "Oh never mind," she muttered, looking down towards the front of the class, where Ash was now giving a mini pep talk to Rowlet, who almost looked like he might be about to doze off again. "You're both a little concerned with Ash, I take it? The boy's been overworking himself with the training?"

"Yeah," Clemont answered simply. "It's like he doesn't want to do anything else. I almost have to drag him out of the training facilities so he'll eat, sleep and go to class."

"Hmm..." Agatha narrowed her eyes at that, looking at Clemont a moment and then focusing back on the battle that was about to begin. "Professor Sycamore did tell me that Ash had taken that loss pretty badly, but I wasn't aware that it was quite like this. I suppose Flint and I should have done more to prepare you. We preferred seeing what we were dealing with, though. This is new to us as well, remember."

Clemont had to admit that he'd wondered why Flint and Agatha had been somewhat absent for the IPL up until this point, but he supposed it was probably an unfamiliar situation for them as well, just as Agatha had pointed out. Going from their Elite Four duties to being teachers and coaches was probably pretty strange. "I understand," Clemont said, noticing Yuzo raise his arm, calling for the battle to begin, with Clembot having called out a black and red cat-like Pokemon with bright yellow eyes. "I just hope you can help us get ready for next time, and make sure Ash gets back on track."

Agatha gave a quiet murmur of agreement, but all of them now had their full attention on the battle down below, where Ash was quick to make the first move. "Rowlet, fly up and dive down with Peck as fast as you can!" he yelled, narrowing his eyes as he watched his newest Pokemon get into its first real battle action.

"Hoo!" Rowlet hooted loudly in answer, quickly flapping his wings and launching himself into the air, just as Clembot ordered an Ember attack from Litten.

As Rowlet flew up, the fiery orbs shot towards him quickly, and he had to spin left and right, preventing his descent back to the ground, unable to get the room he needed to dive down for a Peck attack. Clemont could see Ash watching with frustration in his eyes, clearly trying to spot a point where Rowlet could escape to.

"Yes, I can definitely see that this is not the Ash I know," Agatha suddenly said, as Rowlet continued to fly up and down, avoiding the barrage of Ember attacks that Litten was launching.

"What? Already?" Trevor asked, looking at Agatha in surprise. "The battle only just started. Rowlet's doing pretty well to avoid Litten's attacks isn't he?"

Clemont focused once more on the battle, trying to see what Agatha had seen. Trevor was definitely right; the battle was only just beginning, and Rowlet was displaying exceptional flying skills, but there was definitely something off about it all.

"Rowlet, use Leafage and get rid of Ember!" Ash finally yelled, realizing he wasn't going to get around the barrage from Litten.

"Kooooo!" Rowlet cried out loudly, flipping around in midair and spreading his wings wide, before flapping them once and sending a swirling vortex of leaves down through the flaming orbs shooting upwards. It was similar to a Leaf Storm attack, but slightly less intense. The leaves exploded against the flames and smoke spread between the two Pokemon, with Rowlet immediately darting down, beak glowing white.

"Litten, use Fire Fang!" Clembot ordered immediately, almost as though expecting Rowlet to have charged into the smoke.

"Mrrrow!" Litten shouted as it bared its fangs which suddenly seemed to glow red, before flames started to dance around his mouth. Clemont then noticed a shape emerge from the bottom of the smoke cloud, and Litten leaped up in just that moment, opening and closing his jaws while narrowly avoiding Rowlet's glowing beak. The Fire Cat Pokemon latched onto Rowlet's wing, and then brought the flailing owl down hard to the ground, slashing at it and sending it spinning towards Ash as Clembot ordered a Scratch attack.

Agatha finally spoke up to answer Trevor's question. "Ash is relying on Rowlet to overpower Litten, while using his flying ability to avoid fire attacks. Leafage is unlikely to do much to Litten, so Ash is forcing himself to use a predictable strategy to battle the way he wants to. It was easy for Clembot to know that Rowlet was going to use the smoke. Ash would normally find a much more creative way to get around Litten's defences. It looks fairly easy to me, actually."

Clemont had no idea how Agatha had been able to spot all this within a small segment of the battle, but he wasn't going to doubt her. He definitely knew it looked like a different battle style, despite Ash attempting his usual tactic of speed and charging head on. Ash was capable of more than that, though. He could adapt his strategy if he would just relax a little.

"Rowlet, get back in the air, and use Leafage!" Ash ordered, as the Grass Quill Pokemon shook his head, clearly winded by Litten's combination of attacks.

"Hoo," Rowlet hooted again, although he sounded much less enthusiastic than he had at the beginning of the battle, already having been hit by a super effective attack. He flapped his wings hard and got himself back into the air, with Litten eyeing him carefully, ready to attack with whatever order Clembot gave him.

"Litten, use Ember once again!" Clembot ordered, just as Rowlet began flapping his wings, and bright green leaves began swirling in front of them. Litten responded just in time, jumping back and sending his fire attack back at the leaves that shot towards him. Just as before, the attacks exploded against one another, causing smoke to shoot up between the two Pokemon.

"Now, Rowlet use Leafage again!" Ash shouted, as the Grass Quill Pokemon flew up above the cloud of smoke, eyed carefully by Litten once again.

"Kooooo!" Rowlet cried out loudly, flapping his wings quickly and sending another swirling vortex of bright, green leaves towards Litten.

Clembot seemed to have a strategy, though, and quickly called for Litten to avoid the attack. "Dodge it, and get into the smoke," he called out, and Litten quickly slid into the cloud of smoke, narrowly avoiding the leaves that struck the ground where he'd been a moment before.

Clemont narrowed his eyes in confusion, looking at Clembot, and then Ash. Clembot was using a strategy that hadn't worked for Ash, so what was he planning. Clemont knew that he'd designed the robot to adapt to his opponent's strategies, but this seemed like a strange one. He had a bad feeling that it was a trap for Ash.

"That's it! Dive down into the smoke and find Litten, and then use Peck!" Ash shouted excitedly, punching the air in excitement.

Rowlet nodded immediately, flapped his wings, and then darted into the cloud of smoke, which was now clearing up, with a dark shape visible in the middle of it. Rowlet flew in, aiming for where Litten appeared to be.

"Now, jump out and use Ember!" Clembot ordered, pulling his robotic arm back as though pulling Litten out of the smoke himself.

"Mrrow!" Litten cried out, before leaping out of the smoke, the shape of Rowlet a little more visible as he came to a stop where Litten had been a moment before. The Fire Cat Pokemon then sent the burst of flame towards the stunned grass type, who cried out in surprise as he was struck and sent spinning across the ground, coming to a stop in front of Ash, panting heavily.

"Ash isn't thinking straight," Agatha muttered, sounding quite disappointed with the way things were going at the moment. "He's being far too cautious of Litten, and that's making things even worse for Rowlet."

Clemont nodded, waching as Ash once again had Rowlet get into the air where he was once again kept at a distance with Litten's Ember attack. Even Clemont could see that if Ash was a little more precise, aggressive and creative, Rowlet would be able to get through. There were openings, but he was too concerned about Rowlet being hit by Ember, which had only seemed to make it easier for Clembot to draw him into his attacks so far.

It looked like it was too late for Ash to come back in this battle, though, as Rowlet had been slowed down too much by the super effective attacks that Litten had already landed. As flew up and down attempting to avoid Litten's next few Ember attacks, he dipped low enough for Clembot to see an opening.

"Litten, finish with Fire Fang!" the robot called out, pointing ahead towards Rowlet, who simply seemed too tired to get out of the way. Litten then leaped forward, fangs engulfed in flames, and bit down onto Rowlet's wing once again, before tossing the owl forward towards Ash.

Clemont had to wince as he heard Yuzo make the call, while the students around the class gasped in surprise. "Rowlet is unable to battle, so Clembot and Litten are the winners!"

 _Ash, what is going on with you?_

* * *

"Rowlet is all better, now, Ash. He was pretty tired, but we've made sure he's fully refreshed," Nurse Joy announced happily, handing Ash Rowlet's pokeball across the counter.

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Ash said with a weak smile. He quickly said goodbye, and then he and Pikachu made their way outside, to where Serena and Marie were waiting for him, both of them having been at the Pokemon Centre with Absol earlier and interested accompanying Ash and seeing the training session, that had been slightly delayed due to his and Rowlet's defeat, that Agatha and Flint had planned.

"Is Rowlet feeling better?" Serena asked, looking concerned as she noticed Ash stepping out of the Pokemon Centre.

Ash nodded, clipping the pokeball to his belt. "Yeah, Nurse Joy says he's fully refreshed. It wasn't exactly a normal battle, so Litten didn't really do that much damage."

"Hopefully learning from a couple of Elite Four members can cheer the both of you up," Serena suggested, as the trio set off. "Fantina has our first real training session set up for tomorrow, so hopefully I get an idea of what to expect from yours."

Marie chuckled a little at that, getting curious glances from both Ash and Serena. "I don't think Fantina's going to do anything similar to what Agatha might do. She's pretty scary. One trainer decided to challenge her and her Gengar to a battle last week and she beat their Rhydon with just one attack. We had to give it a whole bowl of Oran berries when it woke up.

Ash had to laugh at that, thinking of how Agatha had probably been more disappointed than the trainer she'd defeated. She was sometimes just as eager as Ash to find strong opponents to battle, and it was even harder for her to find ones that could give her a challenge.

"Flint is pretty intense as well, though," Ash finally pointed out, after walking a few minutes in silence. "He even challenged Cynthia a while back, and she needed to use her best Pokemon to beat him and his Infernape."

"That's the Infernape that he used to defeat the Pokemon Hunter that hurt Absol, right?" Serena asked, a dark look in her eyes as she thought about the man who'd caused Absol so much pain.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, his Infernape is really strong. I battled against it once, and Buizel, my own Infernape and Pikachu were no match for it."

"Pika..." Pikachu muttered, obviously not thinking he'd been outmatched by _that_ much.

Ash gave his partner Pokemon a sheepish grin. "Uh...I just mean Flint's Infernape is _really_ strong. Pikachu and the others definitely put up a good fight, though."

"It seems like you've battled against a lot of really strong trainers," Marie said, laughing at the thought. "Is it true that you battle against Diantha?"

Ash tensed up at that, noticing Serena giving him a surprised look. He glanced around to make sure nobody walking around them had heard that and then lowered his voice to answer. He was proud of having had the opportunity to battle Diantha, but he didn't know if she wanted people to know that she'd battled someone who hadn't earned the opportunity through winning a league. Especially with how busy she seemed to be. "Both times were pretty short, but yeah, Pikachu battled her once, and then Greninja the second time. I passed out when Greninja changed form, though." He frowned at the thought. He'd done so well in that battle, and in a way, he'd never truly achieved that power again. Even against Wulfric and Sawyer, two strong opponents he'd managed to beat. "We need to get stronger so I can beat her one day. Her, Alain, Anton...any strong opponent. I definitely can't be losing to inexperienced Littens if I'm going to do that."

"Oh relax, Rowlet is inexperienced as well. You're just on a bit of a...losing streak," Marie said, shrugging at the thought. "You, Serena and the others still have to be the best team of any of the other schools in the IPL. You two and Dawn are definitely the most successful."

Serena sighed at that, looking awkwardly at Ash and wringing her hands as she walked in silence a few moments. "Maybe...but Gabby is definitely pretty talented. It's not just about our past accomplishments."

"We'll get back on track," Ash assured the two of them, narrowing his eyes in determination. "We just have to-"

"Train, train, train," Marie interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, you mentioned that once or twice."

Ash didn't bother answering that, and the three of them continued on their way to the training facilities in relative silence, only talking a little bit about the eggs they were still taking care of. According to Marie, the one she and Dawn were caring for had already shown some signs of hatching, having shaken a few times in the past couple of days. Ash and Serena, however, hadn't seemed to have had as much luck, with theirs still remaining very still, the only movement coming from it shifting in Ash's backpack as they walked.

When they finally reached their destination, Ash noticed that Agatha, Flint, Trevor and Clemont were all in front of the building and waiting for them. Ash could see that his fellow Battle Team members looked a little uneasy, and that Agatha looked like she was still in the middle of saying something, so he assumed that she was probably already busy with explaining various strategies for them to use. Flint was the first to notice Ash's group and quickly got the others' attention, getting relieved looks from Trevor and Clemont.

"Hi there, you three," Flint greeted once they approached. "Ready for some intense training, Ash? I think Infernape would love to see what Greninja has to offer."

Ash's eyes lit up at that, and ignoring Marie's amused look, he pumped his fist and said, "You bet! That'd be awesome!"

"Well that's going to have to wait," Agatha spoke up, getting surprised looks from Ash and Flint. "We've already seen Ash and Greninja battle, and having them lose to Infernape isn't going to help anything."

"Hey, who says I'm going to lose. Greninja and I have been training really hard!" Ash said indignantly. "Why wouldn't a battle against a strong trainer help us?"

"Oh Greninja is definitely capable of winning," Agatha answered quickly, shrugging like it was obvious. "Both of you, when you've got it together between the ears, can definitely give Flint, or even me, a close match. You're not quite prepared to do that at the moment, though."

Ash gritted his teeth at that, wanting to argue, but not quite sure what to say. He'd seen Agatha after his battle with Clembot, so he wondered if she was judging him based on that. "Rowlet's not very experienced. Just because I lost a battle with him doesn't mean I'll lose with Greninja."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Agatha then gave Flint a somewhat frightening glare, as though daring him to argue for a battle with Ash. Understandably, he did not. "Now," Agatha continued, after a moment of awkward silence, "I think it's time we went in and got things started. Not to worry, Ash, you will indeed be battling, but your opponent will be Clemont. I'd like to see the two of you using Rowlet and Turtwig once more."

Before either of the stunned trainers could answer, Agatha smiled, tapped her cane on the ground twice, and then made her way through towards the doors of the building, Flint rushing ahead to hold the door open for her. Ash would've laughed at how Agatha had seemingly taken over this team in seconds, but for the moment, he was just wondering why she wanted him to battle with Rowlet again, despite him clearly not being ready for IPL action.

"Does Agatha know that the IPL doesn't have anything to do with our classes?" Clemont asked, looking at Ash, eyes wide behind his glasses. "I was hoping to do some training with Luxray for the next match."

"I think she's more worried about the trainers than the Pokemon," Marie muttered, looking pointedly at Ash. He was starting to get sick of those looks from her.

"Um...does she know I'm on the team, too?" Trevor asked quietly, as the group followed the coaches inside.

* * *

"All right, this will be a one on one battle between Ash and Clemont, and the winner will be decided when one Pokemon is unable to battle. Do you both agree?" Agatha looked at Ash, then Clemont, narrowing her eyes as they nodded, looking like she really wanted to take this seriously. Not that Clemont was thinking of taking Ash lightly, of course, although he definitely wasn't sure he had the intensity that Agatha wanted from him.

He looked over at Ash who had his pokeball in hand, watching the other battlefield to the left of this one, where Trevor was getting expert fire type training from Flint in order to help his Charizard. They'd only been working with each other for a few minutes, but Clemont was happy to see that Flint's Infernape seemed to have quickly earned the respect and attention of Trevor's Charizard.

"Good luck both of you!" Marie called from the sidelines, standing next to Serena, snapping Clemont's attention back to the field, where Agatha was glaring at both Ash and Clemont, clearly not liking the fact that both of them were distracted.

"Smarten up, both of you!" She snapped, looking more so at Ash, but making sure Clemont got a frightening glare as well. "Ash, you say you want to keep training and getting stronger, correct? Well, I'm here to make sure you're on track. I have my reasons for this battle, so you'll have to get on board. You as well, Clemont."

Clemont took a deep breath, and then nodded, holding up Turtwig's pokeball in his hand. He still found it odd that Agatha wanted to see he and Ash using Pokemon that had barely been battle-tested, especially with another IPL match on the way, but he supposed he couldn't argue with someone who was one of the best trainers in all of Kanto. _And from what I know, Kanto trainers are pretty tough._ He finally tossed his pokeball forward, the flash of light shining briefly before Turtwig emerged, looking around curiously, clearly not having expected to be called out for a second battle in one day.

"Are you up for another battle, Turtwig?" Clemont asked, looking at his gluttonous grass type. "Agatha wants to see what you have."

"Twig," Turtwig muttered, nodding. Clemont was glad Turtwig was agreeable, but he had a bad feeling that later on, these battles were going to give him a pretty big apetite.

"All right, I guess I'm ready then," Ash finally said. "Rowlet, I choose you! Let's show 'em we've learned from earlier."

"Koooo!" Rowlet hooted, flying up immediately upon exiting from his pokeball, definitely looking much better after his trip to the Pokemon Centre. Clemont knew that even if Ash wasn't quite himself, it would be a pretty tough battle.

"Then let the battle begin!" Agatha shouted, hitting the ground with her cane to signal the start of the match.

Clemont knew that Ash often liked to make the first move, so he made sure he was faster in this battle. "Turtwig, use Leech Seed!"

"Break right through it with Peck!" Ash countered quickly, narrowing his eyes as he looked across at Turtwig, who was lowering his head and aiming for the flying owl above.

Turtwig fired off his attack with surprising speed, but Rowlet acted on Ash's order just as fast. The seed shot up towards the Grass Quill Pokemon who dove down, beak glowing white as it tucked its wings in to pick up speed. Clemont tensed up, not sure which attack would win out, but as Rowlet made contact, he wasn't surprised to see the grass and flying type force his way through, the seed from Leech Seed bursting apart as Rowlet's beak struck it. Turtwig stared up in stunned silence as Rowlet quickly approached, and then a moment later, the owl's glowing beak struck the Tiny Leaf Pokemon, sending him flying back, where he landed hard on the field in front of Clemont.

"Twig..." Turtwig groaned, while Rowlet circled back, preparing for Ash's next order. Clemont gritted his teeth. That was definitely a pretty strong attack, and Ash's training had definitely had an impact on Rowlet so far. _Clembot didn't win with power, though,_ Clemont realized. _I know what to do._

"Turtwig, use Tackle! Aim your head low!" He had to hope Turtwig had some idea of what he was planning, but Clemont knew what Turtwig's favourite move to use was, so he was sure this technique would work.

"You can't overpower us!" Ash called out confidently. "Rowlet, you use Tackle as well!"

"Koooo!" Rowlet answered, flapping his wings, shooting up, and then quickly darting back down, talons aiming down towards the charging Turtwig. It definitely looked intimidating, and Clemont was sure it could beat Turtwig's Tackle.

But it was just what he wanted. "Leech Seed, now!" Clemont ordered, and he smiled, seeing Turtwig come to a quick stop, looking like he knew exactly what his trainer had wanted. The seed shot upwards, just as Rowlet was about to reach Turtwig, and it struck the opposing grass type in its legs, the vines shooting up around them and quick entangling his wings as well. "Use Bite!" Clemont shouted next, wanting to quickly use the advantage he'd earned himself. He was a little disappointed that Ash had fallen into that trap so easily, but if he was going to help Ash get back on track, having Agatha see him lose again might be a good step.

"Twig!" Turtwig shouted gleefully, quickly jumping up and clamping his jaws on Rowlet's little tail. Turtwig started swinging the alarmed grass type around rapidly, before sending him crashing to the ground and spinning across the battlefield.

"Now, hit it again with Tackle!" Clemont ordered.

"Protect yourself with Leafage!" Ash called out quickly, a hint of panic in his voice. It seemed like a desperate tactic, with Rowlet still trapped in the vines from Leech Seed, the vines glowing and seemingly giving Turtwig even more speed as he charged forward with Tackle. Somehow, though, just as Turtwig was close to Rowlet, the owl managed to spread his wings wide enough a few leaves seemed to dart out towards Turtwig, some of them even slicing through the vines around Rowlet.

Both Clemont and Turtwig hesitated, seeing Rowlet struggle free as the leaves hit his opponent. They didn't do much, but they managed to stall Turtwig just enough for Rowlet to get back into the air, where it was panting from the energy exerted in his escape. Clemont frowned, knowing he'd blown an opportunity to strike. If they hadn't hesitated, they could have landed that attack. He knew what was coming next, though, and Clemont wasn't going to let Ash overpower him again.

"Rowlet, use Peck!" Ash ordered, punching the air, a smile of confidence on his face. He seemed sure that Rowlet had the advantage now.

"Turtwig, use Bite!" Clemont quickly countered, knowing it was risky, but sure that he'd be able to take away Rowlet's speed advantage if it was successful.

"Kooo!" Rowlet cried, diving down once again with his glowing beak. Turtwig quickly braced himself for the impact and just as Rowlet was within reach, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon leaped up and clamped his jaws on the owl's beak.

Rowlet's momentum and power were enough to bring both Pokemon hard to the ground, with Turtwig taking the worst of the impact, but Clemont could see that somehow, Turtwig had managed to keep his hold on Rowlet's little beak, the owl clearly unhappy with that, as it struggled to pull away unsuccessfully.

Ash narrowed his eyes, looking a little hesitant about what to do. Clemont was about to make an order to take advantage, but as he looked at the struggling Pokemon and the hesitant Ash, he knew he should wait. He had a feeling Ash was going to make a mistake.

Finally, Ash made his order, clenching his fist and bringing it up as he called out to Rowlet. "All right, let's get Turtwig into the air. "Use Leafage, and focus it on where both of you are right now! Use it to get free and into the air."

Clemont smiled. He knew Rowlet wasn't going to be able to fly up on his own, and Ash was clearly hoping the swirling leaves would force Turtwig to let go, but he was clearly underestimating Turtwig's grip. "Hold on tight, Turtwig!"

Suddenly, Rowlet flapped his wings hard, and leaves started to swirl around the two Pokemon at the centre of the battlefield. Clemont could see Turtwig tense up, but luckily, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon held on, although Clemont could see the uneasy look Turtwig glanced back with. The leaves began swirling faster, hitting the ground and blowing into both Pokemon's faces. Then, a moment later, the generated win brought both Pokemon into the air, with Rowlet flapping his wings hard in an attempt to get as high as possible, while dragging Turtwig up with him. Now was Clemont's opportunity.

"Use Leech Seed one more time!" Clemont shouted, clenching his fists. This was it.

"Rrrr wwwgggg," came the muffled shout from Turtwig answering his trainer's order. Clemont couldn't see clearly, but he heard a surprised grunt from what he assumed to be Rowlet, and through the leaves in the air, he could see the owl's wings suddenly close around his body, clearly wrapped up in the leaves once more.

As the two shapes started to drop, and the swirling leaves stopped, Clemont saw Turtwig manoeuvre himself so Rowlet was below him. The two hit the ground hard with a loud thud, Rowlet softening the landing for Turtwig, but taking an extra blow from the Tiny Leaf Pokemon. As the vines from Leech Seed glowed once more, sapping whatever remaining energy Rowlet had, Turtwig stood proud in victory.

"Rowlet is unable to battle, and Turtwig and Clemont are the victors!" Agatha shouted quickly, hitting the ground once again with her cane.

Clemont stared at the two Pokemon on the field in shock for a few moments, slow to let Agatha's words sink in. _I actually beat Ash?_ As much as Ash had been struggling, Clemont was still surprised, and with Turtwig being as tough to handle as he was, it was even more surprising. That gluttonous little grass type had won two battles in one day!

Clemont quickly rushed forward as he saw Ash going to kneel down in front of Rowlet, with Serena and Marie also making their way over, helping to get the vines off of the knocked out owl. Clemont lost sight of Turtwig, but didn't think anything of it, just hoping he wasn't sneaking off for Serena's abandoned pokepuffs or something.

"Sorry Rowlet, I let you down..." Ash muttered, hands shaking as he fiddled with the vines. "I just can't seem to think straight.

"Hey, it was still a good battle," Serena argued, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Maybe Rowlet was still a little tired from his earlier battle.

"I think Nurse Joy is better at her job than that," Marie butted in, looking sceptical of Serena's comment. "If Rowlet wasn't battle-ready, she wouldn't have..." She trailed off as she caught Serena giving her a surprisingly Agatha-like glare. "Oh...I mean...yeah, he was probably still tired."

"Maybe Turtwig was already pretty strong when I got him," Clemont added, as he knelt down and started helping free Rowlet, who was slowly opening his eyes. Clemont felt pretty bad seeing the tired look in the Grass Quill Pokemon's eyes. Two lost battles in one day had to be rough.

Ash just shook his head, looking at his three friends and sighing. "You don't need to make excuses for me. Maybe I should just quit the team. I'm just getting further and further behind."

"Absolutely not, Ketchum!" the voice of Agatha suddenly spoke up, causing all four Lumiose students to jump in surprise. "I'm not having the Captain of this team give up because he's lost a couple of battles." Clemont glanced up as the elderly Elite Four member approached them. "Do you think I would have ever become an Elite Four member if I let a few losses change the way I battle?"

"No...I'm not saying that," Ash whispered, looking back down and removing the last of the vines from Rowlet, who he picked up and held carefully in his arms, where Pikachu sniffed to see if he was all right. "I just feel so far behind. I've lost to so many strong trainers with my best Pokemon, and now I can't even train my new ones properly. I'm not seeing the battles the same way."

Clemont opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of what to say. This seemed to be about more than just Anton. Ash had been worried beforehand. He looked over to Serena, who looked deep in thought, clearly thinking about her own struggles. In a way, their problems were the same, with both of them getting so far in their dreams, and seemingly taking many steps back with their latest losses.

"I'll see you guys later," Ash finally said, standing up and holding Rowlet close to him. "Sorry, Agatha, I just don't feel like training right now." With that, Pikachu quickly scurried up to Ash's shoulder, and the raven-haired trainer turned around, making his way off the battlefield and towards the exit. The group silently watched him go, until he was out of sight, and the doors had closed.

"Well, that's progress," Agatha said, breaking the awkward silence. "Well done, Clemont."

"Huh?" Clemont, Serena and Marie all asked at once, staring up at the old woman in complete confusion. "Ash sounds like he wants to quit! How is that progress?" Clemont finished, feeling a little angry at the comment.

"Oh Ash is just being moody. I definitely don't like seeing him going through his struggles, but all the great trainers do. Oh my, you should've seen Lance back in the day. Hmph...poor boy." Agatha shook her head, chuckling at some old memory. "Anyway, Ash will be fine. Do you know why he's so frustrated?" she asked, tapping her cane on the ground absentmindedly.

"Well...he's frustrated with losing. He lost in the finals of the Kalos League, and now he feels like he's never going to get another chance," Serena answered, exchanging a glance with Clemont and giving an embarrassed shrug. "I mean...that's how I feel about performing right now. It's kind of similar, I think."

"Indeed," Agatha said, nodding thoughtfully. "He's made such great progress, and he thought he was so close. However, he's found out the mountain is harder to climb once your near the top. He will make it, though. He has that fire within him. Just as you do, Serena. All of you. I can tell he's had an impact."

"What do we do to help him?" Clemont asked, as Agatha stopped tapping her cane, a smirk coming to her face.

"I'll beat him with my cane the next time he-" She stopped abruptly as she lifted up her cane, suddenly staring down at the bottom of it in shock. Clemont stared in horror at what he saw, grasping at his pokeball and quickly holding it up towards the dangling Turtwig, who was biting Agatha's cane. "Clemont...get this damn Turtwig off of my cane."

Clemont had never acted so quickly in his entire life.

 **Author's Note:**

Agatha is a terrifying woman...but AMAZING! Maybe a little harsher than she was in the anime, but hey, she was in one episode. I like to think she can get a little grouchier. And Ash needs that cane beating right now. If Clemont doesn't get it first.

As for the battles...go on. Give it to me. Ash is weak, it's impossible for him to lose, Rowlet is SOOO super strong right now it's ridiculous to lose to that OP Turtwig and Litten. I only ask that you bring your own pitchforks as I can't supply them for your keyboards.

Oh...sassy. See you...next week.


	26. Eggspectations

**Author's Note:**

Hi all. I know it might seem like there's an excuse every chapter now, but I had a family matter to deal with the past couple of weeks so that's put me behind a little bit. Nothing I can do about that, but hopefully you understand. On that note, there are some reviews I need to respond to. I'll get back to you soon on those, don't worry. Anyways...on to the chapter. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 26: Eggspectations**

"Another little brat! Who do these people in Kalos think they are? They vote for these girls with absolutely no class, and no beauty, when I bless them with my presence!"

 _Ugh._

"James, find out where the next showcase is! I'm _not_ losing another one. This is ridiculous! And you better let me use Inkay next time! Clearly Meowth isn't up for the task!"

"Um...but Jess...Meowth was cheered off the stage."

"They were cheering for me! Are you blind?"

Things had been awfully boring the last few months for a trio of what Meowth once considered the top three members of the most powerful criminal Pokemon organization in the world. Well, he definitely didn't think so right now, and he'd had a tough time thinking that the last few years, let alone the last few months. Today, though, things seemed to have reached their low point, with him, and his companions arriving in Lumiose City after participating in a Performance Showcase in Santalune City.

 _Yep...Team Rocket travels around for showcases. We've really hit rock bottom now. And to think we thought losing to the twerp was bad._

Meowth sighed, staring tiredly at Jessie, the magenta-haired woman who always had a flare for the dramatic, which included taking any loss as evidence of the world being against her. She was now glaring at Meowth, as though daring him to speak up in defence of himself after what she'd said. At this point, though, he didn't really care.

"Jess, if ya don't want me next time, I understand," he muttered, casting a glance towards the blue-haired man to his left, James, who was, understandably, looking quite terrified at the moment. When Jessie lost, and more specifically, when she lost three times in a row, she was definitely _not_ fun to be around.

"I never said I didn't want you! You just have to work harder. Come on! We have to practice a new routine! We can use that new university's training grounds. Everyone will think I'm a beautiful young student perfecting my already wonderful routines." Jessie smirked at that, running her fingers through her hair, clearly quite proud of the alternate reality she'd come up with.

"I think da students will notice..." Meowth blurted out, eyes widening as soon as he spoke. "I mean...um..."

James quickly interrupted before Jessie could leap forward and strangle Meowth. "Uh...Jess, why don't we take a break from your showcases for the day? Maybe...um...the world needs to have a rest from your beauty?"

Jessie paused for a moment, looking like she wasn't sure whether to take that as an insult or not, clearly sensing it was James trying to distract her, but also liking the way it sounded. "Very well," she muttered, looking away pointedly, "I will give my adoring fans a rest. They deserve it."

"Yeah, it'll be good for ya, Jess. Maybe we can do something...a little more..." Meowth trailed off, nervously looking towards James, hoping he got the idea. He knew James missed the old days too.

"Maybe we can see if the boss has an assignment for us?" James asked, giving Meowth a little nod before looking at Jessie. "It's been a long time since we've had an update from him. Maybe he'll be...in a better mood."

"The boss wasn't too happy with our progress in Kalos when we talked to him last time," Jessie warned, sounding a little more serious now. "I'm not sure if he'd be willing to give us another mission just yet."

"What about the twerp? Maybe we can go after Pikachu again?" Meowth asked, getting up and walking over to the window of the little hideout they were in. "He was gonna go to that Lumiose University, right?"

James nodded, pulling out the tablet he used to look up data on new Pokemon they saw and for contacting the boss. He clicked a few buttons and then an image came up on the screen. Meowth and Jessie quickly crowded around James to see it more clearly. It appeared to be some kind of local news article about something called the Interschool Pokemon League, and there was a picture of the twerp and his Greninja battling against some other twerp with a Scizor.

"Interesting..." James whispered, as he read over the article. "It looks like the twerp just started participating in some other kind of Pokemon competition. And...he lost his first match! Wow...poor twerp must be pretty down after that."

"What?!" Meowth and Jessie shouted at the same time, peering closer. "But he made it to da finals of da Kalos League!" Meowth added, feeling surprisingly upset upon hearing this. "If he lost his first match, the trainers in these schools must have some pretty top notch Pokemon!"

That thought seemed to have sparked some excitement among the trio. "You might be right about that, Meowth," James said, nodding as he started clicking away at his tablet. Another article appeared on screen, and Meowth and Jessie just sat back, waiting for James to look through it. "Looks like these universities are all over the Kalos region. There's even one in Shalour City, where that twerpette gym leader has the Mega Lucario. Rumour has it that she's attending their school."

"Think we ought to tell the boss about this?" Meowth asked, rubbing his paws together, starting to feel that old excitement he used to get before big missions. "This could be a big thing for us. We could nab some real top notch Pokemon for da boss. Then I'll finally be da top cat!"

"It's a little too early to get the boss in on this," Jessie muttered, staring at the screen and shaking her head a little. For a moment, Meowth wondered if she was just going to say showcases was going to be her career from now on, but luckily, her next words were far from that. "We need to gather more information. We've been out of the loop for a couple of months. We shouldn't rush into this, or the boss might be done with us for good."

"So what do you suggest, Jess?" James asked, closing up the tablet and stuffing it in a bag. "We need to start somewhere."

"Let's start with something we know better than anyone else," Jessie announced, standing up straight, putting her hands on her hips. "Let's get a little bit of practice in and nab that twerp's Pikachu. I'm sure we'll find him around here somewhere. And like you said, James, he's probably a little down after his loss. Maybe we can take advantage of that."

* * *

A few days after Ash's loss to Clemont, both the Battle Team and the Performance Team were fully committed to training with their coaches everyday, now focused on their upcoming IPL matchup more than ever. After an afternoon full of complicated performance routines and Contest battle tactics for Serena and her team, and intense battle training for Ash and the others, everyone was finally getting a chance to relax for dinner at the Greninja Building.

"Man, I'm tired," Ash admitted, digging into his massive plate of food. "I've trained hard before, but Agatha has us doing stuff I've never even bothered to try. "How are you feeling, buddy?" he asked, looking down at Pikachu, who was lying on his back on the table, which Serena noticed made Shauna a little uncomfortable, as Pikachu's tail was close to her plate.

"Pika..." Pikachu mumbled out, looking completely out of it. Serena couldn't blame him. Not only had the poor electric mouse been training hard with Ash seemingly overdoing it, but Agatha had been pushing them hard as well, if not harder. And now, with Ash seeming a little less motivated since his loss to Clemont, it seemed that Agatha wanted him to work even harder.

"I've been really enjoying my training sessions with Flint," Trevor said happily, placing the egg that he and Tierno were taking care of on the table in front of him. Serena thought she saw it shake, but ignored the movement once Trevor continued speaking. "Charizard is already showing a lot of improvement in his fire attacks from his work with Infernape. I think pretty soon, his regular Flamethrower might be as strong as the one he uses when he's mega evolved."

Clemont nodded at that, obviously being well aware of how Trevor had progressed so far in the past few days, as he'd spent a lot of time training with Flint as well, with Agatha mostly working with Ash. "It definitely seems like Charizard is more focused when training with Flint. I think all of our Pokemon are more focused when working with him and Agatha. They definitely have a lot to offer."

Ash sighed, clearly not as enthusiastic with everything Agatha was doing so far. "Well...maybe _I_ should do some training with Flint. Agatha's been making me go over all of my past battles and come up with strategies to beat myself. It's exhausting."

Dawn laughed at that, getting a glare from Ash. "Well...now you know how confusing it can be to battle you. When we were having training battles in Pallet Town, I was always so confused about what you were going to do next."

Ash sighed again, looking down at his plate, clearly not as hungry as he was moments ago, now thinking about all his problems again. "I already know why I lost. I'm just not getting any stronger. I'm not as connected with my Pokemon. Greninja and I can't keep our bond going during battle, Rowlet and I were totally out of sync, and I'm even struggling with Pikachu."

"Pika pikapi?" Pikachu asked, raising his head up and looking at Ash in confusion. Serena frowned, confused about Ash's statement as well. She could see why he might think he was struggling with Greninja and Rowlet, considering he'd lost a couple of battles with them, but to say he was struggling with Pikachu as well was concerning.

"I think you just need a break from training," Serena suggested after a moment of awkward silence around the table. "Agatha's just trying to keep you focused after your battles with Rowlet got you down, but maybe it's a bit much after all the training you were doing earlier. Fantina's been a little easier on us."

"Well...you and Shauna at least. Tierno and I have been doing a lot of work with combinations for battles," Dawn pointed out. "I don't exactly feel like a Captain since she's basically organizing everything for us. Not that I blame her..."

"Tell me about it," Ash muttered, going back to his food and resuming his eating, clearly not in the mood to talk much more.

For a few minutes, everyone ate in silence, until finally Shauna, who was finished eating and now polishing her and Clemont's egg, turned to Serena, with a curious look on her face. "So Serena, what's up with Absol? He hasn't been to any of our training sessions since that night he showed up at the theatre."

"He's still recovering," Serena answered, looking over to the entrance to the dining hall, wondering when Marie was going to show up. "Marie said she'd have an update when she got here. Nurse Joy did say that it took a lot out of him when he came out to find us that night, so it might have set him back a little bit. It does seem like he's healing fairly well, though."

"He looked like he fit right in with your other Pokemon in that little performance he got into," Tierno chimed in, looking excitedly at Serena.

"I bet he'll be a great Performer," Dawn added, nodding in agreement. "He might even be a good Pokemon for a Contest battle. He had great control over that Psycho Cut he used, and he's clearly quite determined since he went searching for you through Lumiose City."

Serena wasn't so sure about that idea, as she knew Absol probably wasn't too enthusiastic about battling after his experiences with that Pokemon Hunter. "I think Absol would probably prefer to simply be a Performer. I don't want him to get hurt again."

Dawn seemed to be a little disappointed at that, and Serena couldn't help but think that maybe Dawn wanted her to try out Contest battles. The Coordinator had been pretty impressed with Serena's showing in her screening battle against Clembot. _I wonder if Gabby has ever competed in Contests. I definitely wouldn't mind beating_ her _in a battle._

It looked like Dawn was about to say something else, but just in that moment, Trevor almost seemed to jump out of his seat as a bright light started shining in front of him. "Whoa!" he shouted, looking at the light and pointing. "Is that...?"

"The egg is hatching!" Tierno shouted, doing a quick little dance in his seat.

Serena's eyes widened as she looked over to the bright light in front of Trevor. Through the light, she could just see the egg shaking as whatever was inside was beginning to emerge. A moment later, the light seemed to shine a little brighter, causing the trainers at the table to glance away, students around them whispering excitedly. Then, finally, the light dimmed, and everyone looked to see what was there.

"Sprout bellsprout!" the Pokemon said, looking curiously around at all the people staring at it. It was some kind of plant-like Pokemon, with a body like a stem, feet like roots and two leaves sprouting from its sides like arms. Its head was yellow and shaped somewhat like a bell, with a round mouth with pink lips. "Sprout?" it said again, turning around again, this time resting its gaze on Trevor.

"A Bellsprout!" Ash noted, looking over with interest from where he was sitting. "I battled one of those in my first ever Pokemon League. They can get to be pretty strong."

"Do you think it'll be able to dance?" Tierno asked, leaning over to look at the grass type, who still seemed to be focused on Trevor.

"I guess we'll find out when we start training it," the orange-haired trainer answered. He then looked closely at Bellsprout, smiling at the curiosity his newest Pokemon seemed to be showing in him. "Nice to meet you Bellsprout. You're the first of all of our eggs to hatch!"

"Bellspout!" Bellsprout answered happily, looking quite pleased, although Serena wasn't exactly sure it really understood what Trevor was saying. It just seemed to like its new trainer and the happy response it was getting. The sight of the two, with the equally excited Tierno joining in, made Serena look over to Ash, who was looking at their egg after pulling it out of his bag, almost like he was expecting it to hatch right away.

That glance made her miss a second bright light, that came from her right, specifically from the egg in Shauna's hands. "No way!" Shauna shouted excitedly. "Clemont! Ours is hatching too!"

"What? You guys too?" Ash asked in surprise, and Serena was sure she could see some frustration in his eyes as he once again glanced at their own egg, before looking over to watch Shauna's and Clemont's which had been placed on the table in front of the Performer.

Once again, there were gasps around the dining hall as people looked towards their table, where another bright light shone on everyone's faces. Serena noticed Clemont get up to stand next to Shauna as the two of them watched their egg glowing, until finally, the light dimmed, and another new Pokemon emerged.

"Nyaaa," the Pokemon squeaked out, tilting its head and yawning as it looked up curiously at Shauna and then Clemont.

It was a pink and cream-coloured cat-like Pokemon. On its face, was a cream-coloured crescent shape where its slit-like eyes looked out from, adjusting to its new surroundings. It was fairly small, with a slender tail sliding back and forth on the table, a bulky part at the end of it almost knocking a glass of water over. Serena could see Shauna's eyes shining with excitement and she couldn't blame her friend. "It's so cute!" she almost screamed.

"Interesting," Clemont said quietly, peering down at the baby Pokemon. "I wouldn't have guessed we'd be getting a Skitty. I think it kind of suits you, Shauna."

"Aw, thanks Clemont!" Shauna squealed once more, picking up and hugging her new Skitty, who seemed more than happy to be embraced by its new trainer. "It's because it's so cute, isn't it?" she asked with a mischievous smirk.

"What? No...I never meant...huh?" Clemont continued to try and find words, his face going bright red, but Shauna had quickly turned her attention back to her new Skitty.

"Serena, what do you think?" she asked excitedly, turning to the honey-blonde and holding up the Kitten Pokemon. "It should be a great Performer, right?"

Serena couldn't help but laugh as she watched her best friend looking so excited with her new Pokemon. It had all happened so quickly, especially after Trevor and Tierno's Bellsprout had hatched, so she was still trying to take it all in. "Well, it definitely seems to like you," she pointed out, as Skitty began nuzzling Shauna's cheek. "You probably won't have any problems with it listening to you."

"Haha, yeah!" Shauna agreed, hugging Skitty once more before looking over at Trevor and Tierno, the former now holding his camera up and taking pictures of their Bellsprout, who seemed more than happy to pose for his newest trainer. "It looks like Trevor has the perfect Pokemon as well."

"If only _we_ knew what _our_ Pokemon was going to be like," Ash muttered, staring with an envious look at Trevor, and then Clemont, who Shauna had reluctantly handed Skitty to. "Ours doesn't even seem _close_ to hatching.

"Hey it shouldn't be _too_ long," Serena said, giving him a sympathetic smile. She had to admit, it was a little frustrating seeing two baby Pokemon while she and Ash didn't seem close to getting one, but she knew they'd get theirs eventually. She had other things she wanted to worry about anyways. "Remember, Reggie said some of the eggs would take longer than others."

Ash didn't answer and just continuously looked at the baby Pokemon with a sour look. It kind of rubbed Serena the wrong way, but she ignored it as Dawn spoke up, struggling to hold back a laugh as Skitty squirmed away from Clemont to get back to Shauna. "I wish Marie was here to see this. She's done a lot for all of our eggs, so it would've been good for her to see them hatch."

"Well, it looks like she's here now," Clemont said, pointing towards the entrance to the dining hall, where the familiar pink hair could be seen, looking a little ruffled, along with a red-faced Marie. "Looks like she's in a rush."

"DAWN!" Marie suddenly shouted, eyes lighting up at the sight of the table. "DAWN! Guess what! It hatched!"

"No way..." Ash muttered, and a moment later, Serena heard Dawn gasp, as they all noticed for the first time that Marie had something in her arms as she ran towards the table, coming to a stop in front of Dawn.

"Isn't she perfect?" Marie asked, looking overjoyed as she held up the third baby Pokemon Serena had seen in the last few minutes.

It was a small, pink, oval-shaped Pokemon, that actually still looked somewhat like an egg. However, Serena could see a little, curly outgrowth like a ponytail coming from its head, along with two little eyes, rosy cheeks and a big smile. Its little arms were flailing around excitedly, and it was kicking its legs, clearly full of energy. Around its midsection seemed to be a pouch with a white stripe at the top. Serena thought there was another egg resting in there for a moment, but noticed that it was simply a white stone.

"Wow, a Happiny!" Dawn exclaimed, taking the baby Pokemon from Marie, who seemed much more willing to share than Shauna had been with Clemont. "She'll be perfect for you when you officially become a Nurse Joy."

As Serena watched her friends with their newest Pokemon, she couldn't help but feel a little more frustrated, now that she and Ash were indeed the last ones with an egg. However, as she'd pointed out to him, Reggie had told them that some eggs would take a little longer, and she knew that theirs would hatch at some point. She did worry that Ash didn't see it that way, though.

And then, while Trevor was taking a picture of the three baby Pokemon, Serena noticed that one trainer was absent from their group, clearly not interested in enjoying the new Pokemon. _Oh Ash..._ she thought, exchanging a look with Dawn, who also seemed to have noticed Ash's sudden absence.

 _I'm just getting further and further behind._ His words from the other day echoed in Serena's head, and she clenched her fists as she imagined how this only added to that feeling for him. She wanted to help, but what could she do? They all wanted to turn things around from their loss against Laverre University, but Serena knew that if they were truly going to bounce back, Ash needed to be himself again.

 _And that means_ I _need to be_ myself _again as well._

* * *

"Perfect shot!" Trevor said happily, as he looked down at his camera, admiring his pictures. "Hey...Shauna, you know that Skitty has a slightly different crescent shape on its face. I've never seen it on a Skitty before, so it must be _really_ rare! And Marie! That Happiny...its cheeks seem to be slightly more pink...and you know, our Bellsprout..."

Dawn couldn't help but space out as Trevor began to ramble on about the different rare features of the baby Pokemon. She'd been interested in his observations of Piplup at first, who apparently had a slightly pointier beak than most Piplup, along with a more symmetrical pattern on his head, however, she realized the other day that either she had six extremely rare Pokemon, or Trevor was seeing something that wasn't there.

She glanced around, hoping that Ash had returned, since he'd disappeared a few minutes earlier, but instead, she noticed that Serena was now missing as well. Dawn, for someone who always said the phrase, "No need to worry," couldn't help but worry about those two. While everyone had been frustrated after their first IPL match, Ash and Serena had probably taken it the hardest, with both working harder than anyone to get ready for the next match. _I really need to be a better Captain. Serena's an important member of the Performance Team, and Ash needs to be able to depend on me as well if he needs my help. I haven't done enough...for me, or my friends._

"Hey Marie," Dawn whispered, getting the attention of her roommate.

"Yeah?" a smiling Marie said, laughing as she looked at Happiny playing with one of Bellsprout's leaves.

"I'm gonna head out for a bit. You don't need to wait around for me. You okay with taking care of Happiny the rest of the night?" Dawn knew the answer was obvious, but felt it was the best way to avoid Marie worrying about Ash and Serena as well.

"Of course!" Marie answered gleefully. "Good luck with whatever you're up to."

"Uh...right," Dawn muttered, giving an awkward wave before picking up a very tired Piplup and making her way out of the dining hall. After squeezing her way past a group of gathered students in the lobby, the blue-haired Coordinator was on the streets of Lumiose City and quickly took a glance in the direction of the Pokemon Centre, having an idea of where at least one of her friends would be heading.

And sure enough, as Dawn looked down the street, she could just see the familiar honey-blonde hair as Serena walked slowly around a corner, past a magenta-haired woman and a blue haired man, with a short person who Dawn couldn't see clearly. They all seemed a little shocked at Serena walking past them. Dawn supposed they probably recognized her from her showcases, but ignored it, looking back towards Serena, clearly on her way to the Pokemon Centre, likely off to see Absol once again. _So predictable, Serena,_ Dawn thought, smiling as she set off to follow her friend.

"Pip piplup," Piplup complained tiredly as Dawn jogged down the street, the movement disturbing his attempts to sleep in her arms.

"Sorry Piplup," Dawn whispered apologetically, pulling out Piplup's pokeball. "Why don't you rest in your pokeball for now?" Piplup gave a tired nod, and the Coordinator quickly recalled him, putting the pokeball away and setting off after Serena once more.

It didn't take her too long to catch up, with Serena already walking fairly slowly, and a few moments later, Dawn wasn't too far behind, the honey-blonde turning around and catching sight of her at the sound of footsteps. Serena paused, waiting for Dawn to catch up to her, looking slightly uneasy, as though she didn't really feel like talking, but not giving any sign she wanted Dawn to leave her alone. She gave a little smile and then turned around as Dawn caught up to her, giving the signal that she wanted to continue walking.

"Looking for Ash and I?" Serena asked, glancing sideways to look at Dawn. She sounded pretty tired, perhaps a little more wiped out from all the training than she'd let on.

"Yeah," Dawn answered, nodding slightly. "I just thought...well Ash seemed kind of frustrated, and you looked like you were a little...concerned as well. I wanted to make sure you two were okay."

"Well...I don't know where Ash is, but I'm okay. I'm just gonna go see how Absol's doing. Marie seemed a little distracted, so I thought I'd go and check on him myself." She paused, staring out towards the tip of Prism Tower, which could be seen over the buildings ahead. It looked like she wanted to say something more, but couldn't quite find the words.

"Yeah, I guess she's pretty excited about Happiny," Dawn laughed out, thinking of the look on Marie's face as she'd brought in the baby Pokemon. "Everyone seems excited. I get why Ash is frustrated, for sure. Especially after what he was saying the other day."

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Serena blurted out, staring down sadly at the ground, not even looking where she was going as she walked. "Seeing him like this...it makes _me_ want to give up, and ever since meeting him, I've always believed in doing the opposite."

Dawn frowned at that, somewhat confused by the way Serena had said, "ever since meeting him." _She only met him a little over a month ago._ She decided to ignore that for the moment, though, and thought about what it was like to see Ash so down lately. She'd noticed his frustration back in Pallet Town, when he'd talked about losing in the Kalos League, and he'd been pretty upset after fainting in his battle against Gary, so it wasn't completely out of the blue. Although...in some ways it was. Despite Ash being frustrated, he'd been so motivated to push back towards his goal, and his determination had helped Dawn get back on her feet after some of the struggles she'd been having. He was still positive and sure of himself that he'd get back on track. That positivity was gone now, and it seemed as though Ash thought everything was a setback. He seemed to think he was pushing himself further and further away from his goal.

 _Just like me,_ Dawn realized, thinking of her own rut. Even making it to the final four in the Indigo Grand Festival made her think she was a failure. She knew she'd done well, but it still stung, knowing that she couldn't get back to where she'd been against Zoey back in Sinnoh. Maybe she'd had a bad influence on Ash. Maybe it was _her_ who was bringing the negativity. Why was she the Captain of the Performance Team, when she couldn't even deal with her own problems, and made it worse for her friends.

"Dawn? Dawn, are you okay? You look kind of pale." The sound of Serena's voice and the hand on her shoulder made Dawn shake herself away from her thoughts. _Spacing out with negative thoughts. Great...so much for no need to worry._ "Dawn?" Serena asked again, when the Coordinator still didn't say anything after another moment.

"Oh...sorry," she muttered, rubbing her forehead briefly and then looking at Serena. "I was just...I know what you mean about Ash. I'm just worried that I kind of caused it."

"What?" Serena tilted her head, confusion in her eyes. "How could you have caused it?"

"I guess I just feel like I'm not the best influence. Some of the things he's been saying are things that I've been thinking about and going through when it comes to Contests," Dawn admitted, somewhat blushing from embarrassment. "Maybe I could've helped him more...maybe I should've left him alone...I don't know. When we were in Pallet Town, it was always _him_ helping _me._ He ignored his own problems, and then when we got here, he seemed fine, and it looked like we were all getting back on track...and then..."

"And then another setback," Serena finished, nodding like she knew exactly what Dawn meant. _I guess she should know_ , the Coordinator realized. _She's had a pretty rough time, too._ "Seems like we're all trying to get our heads together."

"Yeah, but I just seem to be making it worse," Dawn muttered, sighing as they walked past a park, noticing some younger trainers having a carefree battle with a Froakie and a Chespin. "I'm friends with all of you guys, and I just seem to think of my own problems. And as for the IPL, why should I be Captain when I can't even lead myself out of trouble."

"I think you've been a great friend, and a great leader, Dawn," Serena argued, looking seriously at her blue-haired friend. "You came to check on me after I lost to Gabby, you brought Marie into our group of friends, you've helped Tierno not only get into Coordinating, but onto the Performance Team, and I bet Ash would say you've helped him out a lot as well. I know you're the right choice for Captain of the Performance Team, and you're an even better friend."

Dawn didn't answer for a few moments, trying to take in all that Serena was saying. The way she was talking, Dawn couldn't help but think she'd been overreacting. A small smile came to her face, and she glanced sideways at Serena. "I came out here to see if I could help _you_ and you're the one cheering _me_ up."

Serena smiled back, patting Dawn on the shoulder. "Maybe helping you is helping me," she suggested, shrugging at the thought. "It's nice to put a smile on someone's face again, anyways. I've been thinking I lost that ability."

"Hey, no need to worry," Dawn said, holding up a fist, suddenly feeling determination flare up inside her, "we'll be getting everyone, including Ash, back on track.. He'll be smiling again soon. We'll make sure of it."

Serena nodded, holding out a hand towards Dawn. "We won't give up until we've got the real Ash Ketchum back, right? We won't give up till it's over."

"Of course not!" Dawn assured her, clasping Serena's hand. "No need to worry!"

* * *

Ash had somewhat lost track of where he'd been going. He'd left the dining hall, and before he knew it, he was on the streets of Lumiose City, aimlessly walking, with no destination in mind. When he looked up and saw Prism Tower up ahead, he stopped, taking a deep breath and looking up towards the top, remembering that leap he took to save Pikachu. It felt like so long ago. So much had happened since then.

"Kalos has been quite the journey for us, hasn't it, Pikachu?"

"Chaaa," Pikachu answered, nodding in agreement.

They watched the tower a few minutes, having arrived at the perfect time to see it light up with the sunset. It looked just the same as it did on the night Ash and Serena had gone out for dinner together. _That was a fun night. I think it's been the best one since coming here._ Ash shook his head a little, remembering the apparent reason for that night out. _Doesn't seem to have helped the egg, but it was still worth it._

Ash and Pikachu watched the tower for a few minutes, simply standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He wondered whether or not Clembot was in the gym, awaiting challengers for the next day. He wondered if _he'd_ even be able to beat Clembot in a battle again as he thought of the robot.

Luckily, there didn't seem to be much foot traffic, but as a trio of people began walking in his direction, looking a little startled when he looked up at them, Ash decided to head over to an empty bench and sit down. Once seated, he pulled off his backpack and pulled out the egg, the blue colour lit up by the lights from Prism Tower. He watched it for a moment, hoping for some kind of movement to signal the egg was at least reasonably close to hatching. Unfortunately, there wasn't even a twitch.

"I wonder if I'm holding Serena back with this assignment, Pikachu," Ash whispered, turning the egg over in his hands. "I know some eggs take a little longer, but we should at least have a sign that ours is on its way. There's been nothing. Maybe I haven't done enough to take care of it."

"Pika!" Pikachu snapped, slapping Ash's arm with his tail. Ash winced a bit, looking at Pikachu in shock for a moment. "Pikapi chuuu pika," the electric mouse added, narrowing his eyes. "Pika!"

"Well what else am I supposed to think? Everyone else has a baby Pokemon, and I've been doing nothing but training. Even that's been going badly. I'm lost, buddy. I can't get out of this rut. It's not like the struggles I've bounced back from before. It's like everything I've learned is just...gone." Ash took a deep breath, closing his eyes a moment, and then slowly opening them and looking at Pikachu, who stared back with wide, sad eyes.

Ash didn't know what else to say. He didn't even know if he really knew why he felt this way. Whenever he'd gone through a tough loss before, he might've had a tough time dealing with it, but eventually, he and his Pokemon would work together and find a path that led them back to improvement and success. Sometimes, a loss would bring out the best in him in his next challenge, or it would teach him a lesson for him to grow in the long run. But now, he felt like each loss just pulled him further and further from his dream, and even a simple egg-raising assignment that he was behind in felt like another step towards failure.

 _Why? Why do I keep struggling? What is it that I'm not doing?_

Ash tried to think back to the last moments of his battle with Clemont. Rowlet had definitely seemed strong enough to win that battle. They'd trained well enough...at least to give Rowlet the tools to win. _But it wasn't Rowlet's fault. It was...me...I lost myself in that battle._

But what did that mean?

Back in Kanto, when Charizard had refused to battle, and Ash had lost to Ritchie, he'd taken it pretty badly. He'd lost battles before, but that loss had been different. It was so much more meaningful, and it was such a quick end to a long, difficult journey. But, he'd learned so much from it. He learned to prepare better, train harder, understand his Pokemon more and to learn from the defeat.

Each big loss he suffered after that had still hurt, but Ash felt he'd taken steps forward because of each one. Losing to Harrison inspired him to travel further and train entirely different teams of Pokemon, leading him to the Hoenn region where he barely lost to the eventual winner. Then, losing to both Tyson and Tobias in the Hoenn and Sinnoh leagues, where they eventually won, Ash realized he was closer to winning a league some day, yet he still lacked that extra strength in order to win. When he'd lost to Cameron in Unova, he realized he'd been a little overconfident, failing to train his Pokemon to the level that he'd had them in the past. Something about losing in the finals of the Kalos League stung more than the others, though.

 _I was so close._ Ash knew he'd been close before. He'd taken Tyson to the limit in the Hoenn League, and Tyson had gone on to win. And against Tobias, Ash had been the only one to put a dent in his team. Losing to Alain, though, Ash felt he'd prepared his Pokemon and himself for that next step. He'd reset himself after losing to Sawyer and Wulfric, learned to trust his Pokemon on another level, and had reminded himself to use his defeat as a learning experience.

What else was there to learn, though? He'd gone so far, learned so much, trained so hard...but it still wasn't enough. All he'd learned just seemed to mean less and less now. What had he done wrong against Alain? What was there to learn? Why had it pushed him further away from his goal?

"I just don't know," Ash whispered, looking down at the egg in his hands. "I just don't-"

"Pika!"

"Huh?"

Ash jumped up in an instant, whipping around to see Pikachu getting pulled away rapidly by some kind of mechanical, retracting arm, with a glass case at the end of it that held the electric mouse inside. Ash stared with wide eyes, seeing the case fill with electricity as Pikachu struggled to escape. As the case came to a stop, reaching the feet of the culprits, Ash's fists clenched, eyes widening further as he recognized the thieves.

"Team Rocket..." he growled, staring at the trio that had been after him for so many years. To think he actually believed they were going to forget about him. "I should've known you three would be back..."

The first one to speak was Jessie, smirking as she straightened up. "We'd never leave our favourite little mouse in your hands, twerp. Team Rocket will never give up. And now, it's time for that wonderful little motto of ours!"

"Prepare for trouble, Team Rocket is back!"

"And make it double, determination we don't lack!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowwwth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!" the Patient Pokemon finished, emerging from its pokeball with a flash, lighting up the whole team as they did their poses.

Ash stared at his old enemies for a moment, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, knowing he had to be careful with Pikachu locked in that case. His hand drifted to his belt, lightly touching Greninja's pokeball, careful not to make it too obvious in case Team Rocket noticed and did something to Pikachu. "So where have you guys been?" he asked, hoping to distract them enough so he could catch them off guard with Greninja. "I haven't seen you since the Kalos League."

"We've been busy! None of your business, twerp!" Jessie shouted, looking furious, as though Ash had asked her something very personal. He raised an eyebrow, looking at James and Meowth to see their reactions. They seemed a little nervous, clearly not willing to step in here.

"All right...well it's been a little weird without you guys going after Pikachu the last couple of months, I have to say," Ash admitted, smiling just a little. "I thought you'd given up."

"If you've taught us anything, twerp, it's that you should never give up!" Jessie shouted, narrowing her eyes. "How dare you think we'd give up after all this time!"

Ash blinked in surprise at that. He never would have imagined Team Rocket admitting to learning life lessons from _him_. _Never give up, huh?_ "So what, you guys were just waiting for the perfect opportunity? Waiting for me to just sit alone on a bench with Pikachu so you could sneak behind us like cowards?"

"We are _not_ cowards!" Jessie shrieked. "We were just taking a break! We realized another opportunity, and now we're taking it."

Ash narrowed his eyes, wondering just what that might mean. "What opportunity might that be?" It sounded like it was probably about more than Pikachu, which made Ash a little curious.

"None of your business, twerp," Meowth shouted this time. "We're here for Pikachu now, and that's what matters."

"I'm not letting you get away with Pikachu," Ash assured them, now tightening his grip on Greninja's pokeball. "This is something you _should_ give up on."

"We'll see about that, twerp. Inkay, use Psybeam!" James suddenly shouted, throwing a pokeball forward.

"Gourgeist, Seed Bomb!" Jessie added, throwing her pokeball just as quickly.

Ash could only look up in surprise, stunned by their quick movements, hand slipping off of his own pokeball as he looked up at the Revolving Pokemon emerging above him, aiming the shining beam of energy and unleashing it, Gourgeist hovering behind it, ready to fire her own attack.

"Braixen, Flamethrower!"

"Piplup, Bubble Beam!"

As Inkay's bright beam of energy charged towards Ash, a sudden warmth was felt along his body, and a moment later, bright, hot flames were shooting over his head, colliding with the Psybeam, smoke shooting up from the two attacks meeting. Immediately afterwards, a stream of bubbles followed, first hitting Inkay, sending him spinning back and into Gourgeist, before picking up the Pumpkin Pokemon as well and sending them both crashing to the ground in front of their trainers, who stared up, looking past Ash in shock.

"Mind your own business, twerpettes!" Jessie yelled, eyes widening in fury as she looked behind Ash.

"This _is_ our business!" the familiar voice of Serena called back, as she appeared at Ash's side, Braixen right in front of her, wand held out in front of her.

"You attack Ash, you attack us," Dawn added, appearing on Ash's other side, Piplup there as well, looking quite fierce.

Ash smiled, nodding at the two before looking back towards Team Rocket, who now looked a little more hesitant with the numbers not exactly favouring them anymore. "Greninja, I choose you!" he shouted, throwing his pokeball forward, now not feeling the need to worry about catching them by surprise. The Ninja Pokemon emerged with a bright flash of light, flipping through the air and landing softly in front of Ash, casting a glance towards Braixen, who smiled back, before quickly shifting his gaze towards Team Rocket. "Give Pikachu back!" Ash yelled, putting as much authority into his voice as possible. "It's no use fighting, now."

They looked nervous, each of them looking at each other with wide eyes. Eventually, though, Jessie smirked, eyes locking on to Greninja. "Maybe not...or maybe you're not as tough as you used to be. Been losing lots of battles lately, haven't you?"

Ash narrowed his eyes, looking back and making sure not to blink. "That's not going to work on me. I once beat you guys with a Caterpie. It's not even close now. You never win."

"Unless you're losing your touch," James suggested, getting a nod from Jessie. "I have to say, twerp, you've looked better. I think you're losing it."

"Maybe not such a great Pokemon Master after all," Meowth added, taking a step forward to join Inkay and Gourgeist who were now getting up. "Went from making it to the finals of da Kalos League to losing a school fight. I think dat's a bit of drop off for you, twerp."

"Don't listen to them, Ash," Serena whispered, taking a step closer to him. "You know you're better than them."

"These guys are losers," Dawn added, narrowing her eyes. "They're just playing mind games, since they know they can't win."

"They're not totally wrong," Ash muttered, looking towards Pikachu, who stared back, eyes wide with fear, almost as though he was scared Ash would give up.

"We can beat you, twerp. It's about time we do," Jessie said confidently. "Gourgeist, get ready."

"You too, Inkay!" James shouted.

"I'm ready, too!" Meowth announced.

"Wobba!" Wobbuffet joined in, leaping forward to stand next to Meowth.

"Ash..." Serena whispered, voice shaking.

"Water Shuriken!" Ash yelled, thrusting his arm forward, signalling for Greninja to attack.

"Wobbuffet, use Mirror Coat!" Jessie ordered quickly.

Ash ignored her, watching carefully as Greninja ran forward, bringing his webbed hands to his hip and forming the watery ninja star. He leaped high above the group of Team Rocket Pokemon, holding the Water Shuriken up high, before throwing it down as hard as he could. Immediately, Meowth, Inkay and Gourgeist moved aside, but Wobbuffet stayed still, standing up straight, a glow coming over his body. The watery ninja star sailed towards him, spinning rapidly and striking the Patient Pokemon with full speed.

"Buffet!" Wobbuffet yelled, grunting as the attack struck, but standing strong and thrusting his body forward, the glowing light around his body engulfing the Water Shuriken before sending it spinning back at twice the speed.

"Ninja!" Greninja shouted in surprise, the attack striking him hard in the chest and sending him flying backwards. He spun through the air, landing hard on his back in front of Braixen, who rushed forward, placing a paw on his shoulder, checking to see if he was okay.

Ash gritted his teeth. "Greninja, you okay?" he called out, as the Ninja Pokemon sat up, glaring up towards Wobbuffet, who looked pretty proud of his successful counterattack.

"See, twerp? We can beat you!" Jessie announced confidently, exchanging an excited look with James. "Now, it's time to win and take Pikachu, so that it can be raised by competent trainers."

"Inkay, Psybeam!"

"Gourgeist, Leech Seed!"

Serena was quick to act, grabbing onto Ash's arm and giving it a little shake, clearly trying to get him to act. "Braixen, Flamethrower!" she yelled.

"Greninja, Cut!" Ash followed, eyes going to Gourgeist, who was quickly approaching.

Braixen quickly stood up straight, looking up towards Inkay, who once again fired off his shining beam of energy, aiming it straight for the Fox Pokemon. Her wand was up in an instant, flames bursting out quickly, rushing towards the incoming attack and exploding against it, smoke once more surrounded the point of impact

A moment later, Gourgeist emerged from the smoke, rushing towards Greninja, vines shooting up beneath her in a line as she made her way forward. The Ninja Pokemon wasn't ready to be grabbed by those vines, though, putting a webbed hand at his hip and bringing forth his white blade of light, before rushing forward and slicing into the vines that shot towards him. Gourgeist swooped upwards, narrowly dodging as Greninja mowed down her vines and then slashed up towards her.

"Seed Bomb, now!" Jessie shouted, pumping her fist in excitement, clearly thinking she was capable of winning this.

"Piplup, deflect with Bubble Beam!" Dawn ordered, quick to get in the battle.

"Not so fast! Meowth's Fury Swipes!" Meowth shouted, leaping forward and extending his claws as he rushed towards Piplup.

The two shouts distracted Ash just enough as he noticed Meowth and Piplup suddenly engaging in combat, and he quickly looked back towards Greninja, slicing through another vine, just as Gourgeist aimed down and unleashed a barrage of glowing green seeds. They crashed into the Ninja Pokemon, exploding into little clouds of dust as they struck. Ash winced, not feeling the attacks, as they weren't connected, but still feeling as though a part of him was being hit.

"Gren!" Greninja shouted, staggering back in pain.

"Inkay, Tackle!"

"Ink inkay!" Inkay shouted gleefully, charging past Gourgeist and driving his body hard into Greninja, causing him to fall back into Braixen, who barely managed to steady him.

"Ash!" Serena hissed, and suddenly he felt a pain in his arm. He glanced down, noticing Serena was still holding onto him, now gripping him _very_ tightly. He looked up, his brown eyes meeting her blue ones. "You're better than this. You're better than _them_. Wake up! Don't give up till it's over!"

"But I-"

"Infernape, Flare Blitz!"

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

For the second time within a few minutes, warmth spread over Ash as flames shot over top of him, this time surrounding the body of a familiar looking fire-monkey. The flaming ape soared over top of Greninja, striking Inkay head on and sending the much smaller Pokemon flying back, crashing hard into James who fell backwards, dropping a remote in his hand. A moment later, a black and purple ball of energy struck Gourgeist in the midsection, sending her flying back as well, also into her trainer, causing Jessie's elbow to land on the dropped remote as she fell over top of James. She looked up in alarm, the glass case holding Pikachu suddenly opening up. He bolted as soon as he had the chance, leaping over Meowth's partially frozen body as he was launched back by Piplup's Ice Beam.

Ash spun around, seeing both Flint and Agatha standing behind him, glaring ahead as they looked towards Team Rocket, Gengar rushing forward from Agatha's side to join Infernape and Pikachu, who stood menacingly in front of Wobbuffet.

"Let's finish this off then, shall we?" Flint asked, looking at Agatha. "Would you like to do the honours?"

"Hmm, indeed I would," she answered, nodding towards Gengar. "Shadow Ball once more."

"Wobbuffet! Use Mirror Coat!" Jessie screeched, eyes wide with fear as she noticed the two Elite Four members."

"Not going to work, young lady," Agatha shouted back, as Gengar formed the ball of black and purple energy, while Wobbuffet stood tall in front of Team Rocket. "Now, Gengar!"

"Gengar!" Gengar shouted, firing the attack forward. It struck the glowing Wobbuffet in the middle of the chest, spinning against him as the Patient Pokemon struggled against it, doing his best to send the attack back, clearly finding it much harder than before. Eventually, it proved too difficult a task, and the attack exploded into him, sending him flying back, where he landed on the rest of the pile that was Team Rocket.

"Now, Ash, how about you finish this off?" Agatha asked, looking pointedly at him. "Pikachu's waiting."

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, locking eyes with Ash, cheeks sparking as he turned around, facing the now vulnerable Team Rocket.

"Ash..." He again felt Serena's grip on his arm. He took a deep breath, looking up at her once again. "You're not giving up, right?"

"Twerp...that Pikachu...is going to be...ours..." Ash turned away from Serena, looking back towards Team Rocket, noticing that they were slowly disentangling themselves from one another. Jessie and Gourgeist in particular were managing to get up once again.

"No..." Ash whispered, bringing his hand up and gently patting Serena's hand that still gripped his arm. "I don't do that." He gave a short laugh, looking towards Pikachu, who's ears pricked up a bit, and he turned back a bit, locking eyes with Ash once more. "Show 'em everything you've got, Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

"Gourgeist! Stop him!" Jessie yelled, still struggling to get to her feet.

"Gour...gourgeist," Gourgeist called out tiredly, still held down by Wobbuffet, who was partially on top of her.

"Piii...kaaa..." Pikachu stepped forward, electricity surrounding his body as he charged up his attack, looking menacing as he slowly approached the group that had once again tried to steal him. They all seemed to look up in fear.

"That's the Pikachu we want..." James said nervously, blinking as Pikachu leaped into the air. "This is going to hurt.

"CHUUU!" The electricity shot down towards them, surging through Team Rocket, who yelled in pain, although Ash was almost sure he could see Meowth smiling. Suddenly, the ground beneath them exploded, launching them into the air, sending them flying upwards into the sky.

"I missed that Thunderbolt!" Meowth shouted.

"We're blasting off again!"

For a couple of minutes, they all simply stood there, waiting, almost as if to make sure Team Rocket was actually gone. Ash stared at the spot where they'd been, where Pikachu was standing, looking both proud and nervous, clearly unsure of what his trainer was thinking as he stared back. Ash's eyes then went to Dawn, seeing her checking on Piplup, making sure he was okay after his little clash with Meowth. He then looked back at Agatha and Flint, seeing them eyeing him carefully, their looks making him even more unsure.

He heard a noise in front of him, and turned back, seeing Greninja on his feet, looking fine, but held onto by a nervous looking Braixen. Ash sighed in relief...he might've been losing that battle, but Greninja was definitely the stronger Pokemon. Those attacks had barely done anything to him. _I shouldn't have been losing, though. Out-manoeuvred by Team Rocket...I'm really losing it._

A small, quiet cough to his right caught Ash's attention, and he looked up to see Serena smiling back. He didn't know if he was seeing right in the moonlight, but Ash thought he saw a hint of red in her cheeks, particularly noticeable as she glanced down at his arm. He felt his own cheeks heat up, realizing he still had his hand over hers...which was still holding onto his arm quite tightly. The two of them quickly let go and stepped back from one another, each giving an awkward smile.

"Well, Ash, you can't stay out of trouble can you?" Agatha suddenly said, breaking the silence as she and Flint stepped forward. A moment later, Dawn and the Pokemon joined as well, all standing in a circle. "Here Flint and I were, on our way to a meeting with Professor Sycamore, and I see you at it with those fools from Team Rocket just like the first time we met. Ah...memories. That was a fun day, that was."

"Team Rocket...so those are the guys that have followed you throughout your journey?" Dawn asked, staring off in the direction they'd been sent flying. "Seemed a little tougher than you made them sound."

"I let 'em get the jump on me," Ash admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Guess I screwed up again..." he added bitterly, looking apologetically at Greninja and then Pikachu, who leaped up onto his shoulder and nuzzled him, clearly trying to express that he didn't blame Ash.

"The important thing is that you and your Pokemon are okay," Flint assured Ash. "We can't have our star battler out for our match against Shalour."

"Oh nonsense, Flint! That's not important. The match, that is," Agatha snapped, making Flint nervously back up a step. She set her gaze on Ash again and continued. "Are you all right?" she asked, narrowing her eyes and tapping her cane on the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash answered quietly. "Only because Serena and Dawn saved me, though. And then you two stepped in. I would've lost Pikachu without you..."

"Ash, we're your friends," Serena said, reaching out and taking hold of his arm once more. She seemed to be quite comfortable doing that, Ash realized. "There's nothing wrong with needing help. And you showed that you were stronger than them. Pikachu easily beat them in the end."

"They were cowards to sneak up on you, Ash," Dawn added, a hint of anger in her voice as she looked back at him. "You're better than that."

"Jessie had me backed into a corner with Greninja, though," Ash pointed out, once again giving an apologetic look towards the Ninja Pokemon. "I let him and Pikachu down. If Flint and Agatha hadn't stepped in..."

"You would've still sent them flying," Agatha said simply. "Ash, as much as you might be struggling, you know that when it comes down to it, you'll never let your Pokemon down. Yes, you may lose a few Pokemon battles, and you may lose more than that. But you, like almost no other trainer I've ever met, will always stick by your Pokemon, no matter what. So you've lost a few battles, you allowed lesser trainers to get the best of you...well guess what? That happens. Flint here even had me on the ropes with his Infernape the other day. When you're a strong trainer, among the very best, those losses can make you think you're losing your touch. You just have to remember, you are never the loser if you believe in yourself and your Pokemon."

"Like I told you way back in Sinnoh," Flint said, chuckling at the memory, "believe in yourself and you can do it. Or something along those lines."

"And like you told me," Serena whispered, bringing Ash's attention to her slightly red face, "don't give up till it's over."

Ash took a deep breath, letting their words sink in. It all sounded so reasonable coming from them. Was he crazy to think he'd fallen so far behind? Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. But now, some part of him told him that if he was falling behind, it had nothing to do with his losses to Alain, or Anton, or Clemont...it just had to do with him...him and his own desire to always make progress. To always see his progress.

He nodded, smiling back at Serena and nodding. "Yeah...don't give up till it's over." The words echoed in his head, and for some reason, he heard it in a little kid's voice. _Don't give up till it's over, kay?_

Ash was about to say something else, but just then, he felt something in his arm. For a moment, he thought it was Serena again, but he noticed her suddenly take a step back, eyes widening. He followed her shocked gaze and realized he still had the egg in his arm, held tight this whole time. Even more interesting, though, was what it was doing. Barely noticeable, and barely worthy of being excited about, the egg shook. It wasn't a sign that its hatching was imminent, but to Ash, it was the most exciting thing he'd seen all day.

"Not so far behind after all," Serena whispered, giving Ash a wink as he smiled back.

"Like I said before," Ash said, holding up the egg and studying it, "we're acing this thing. "I won't let us down."

 _No matter what, I won't let any of them down. My team, my friends and my Pokemon...my family._

 **Author's Note:**

Is Ash back? Is everything back on track? Did Team Rocket of all things help him get himself back to normal? Or maybe...there's still something else. You will see in due time. Like...2-3 chapters. Should be clearer then. I can see how it might be confusing, though, so ask if confused. Simply put, I've got Ash struggling with losing, yes, but more specifically, the fact that his latest losses give him no sense of progress, like some of his other big losses were able to do (at least in this world).

As for Dawn and Serena, I wanted them to help each other out. Dawn's becoming a better leader (and Serena is as well, I suppose). Another thing with Serena, though, is, of course, making others happy, win or lose. Awww, I know. So nice and fluffy.

On to the eggs. Conveniently quick hatching...boy. Well, that was to get Ash more frustrated. As for the choices, I thought Bellsprout suited Trevor (not much more to it than that...plus it gives him a grass type). And yes, eventually these Pokemon will go to one of the two trainers caring for them in this assignment. Skitty and Shauna...obvious enough I think. And same with Marie and Happiny. Now...place your bets on who Ash and Serena will get.

Not much else to say. I'm hoping another chapter will be out by Friday/Saturday. Hoping...do you believe in me? Anyways, see ya next time.


	27. Road Trip

**Author's Note:**

Not much to say here...I guess...the next IPL match is getting closer. So...yay. Here's the chapter!

 **Chapter 27: Road Trip**

"And that's all for today, class," Professor Sycamore announced, turning off the screen showing his notes on the Keen Eye ability that he'd been discussing the last few minutes. "Don't forget to submit your two-page reports on the abilities we've studied up until now. Have a good weekend, and wish the IPL team good luck."

"Two page what?" Ash suddenly asked, looking at Clemont wide-eyed. "I've never written one page of anything...how am I supposed to do _this_?"

Clemont had to bite back a laugh at the panic he could see in Ash's eyes. He'd been a little nervous about the idea of having to write a report as well, considering most of their classes involved practical work with their Pokemon. However, with Professor Sycamore being more involved in research than some of the other teachers, it made sense.

"Don't worry, it won't be too hard," Clemont assured Ash. "You know this stuff pretty well by now anyways. You could probably write ten pages."

"I'll write the two and spend the rest of the time with my Pokemon," Ash mumbled, looking nervously at Pikachu. "I don't think writing is my thing."

Clemont smiled, pausing a moment as some of the students in the class made their way past, on their way out, a few of them giving Ash and him thumbs up and giving them well-wishes for their weekend battles. "Writing probably isn't the thing for most Pokemon trainers," he laughed out, thinking that he'd probably be struggling to think of something to write as well. "We've got other things to think about, though, don't we?"

"Yeah!" Ash said enthusiastically, looking excitedly at Pikachu. "It's time to get back on track, right buddy?"

Clemont felt kind of relieved seeing Ash so pumped up for the upcoming battles, and more so in a positive way. Until that run-in with Team Rocket he'd had, Ash had almost seemed to be dreading this next battle. He seemed a little more nervous than Clemont had ever seen him, but at least the excitement was there.

"So you still plan to go with Pikachu for the battle?" Clemont asked, looking at the electric mouse, seeing his cheeks sparking with excitement, clearly ready to battle.

"Yeah, of course!" Ash said, as though it was obvious. "That's what I promised, and I'm not gonna back down from that. And Pikachu's got a pretty good history in Shalour City. He's the one who beat Korrina's Mega Lucario to get us the Rumble Badge. That was a tough battle, but Pikachu really came through."

Clemont felt his cheeks heat up a bit when he heard Korrina's name. He'd almost forgotten that she was at Shalour College. He had no idea why that would make him feel nervous, but for some reason it did, and he quickly looked away from Ash. Maybe he was just worried about battling a trainer with a Mega Lucario. _Yeah, that's probably it. Besides, Ash is the only one to have beaten her among our group, and it's no guarantee he's the one battling her._

"You okay, Clemont?" Ash asked suddenly, causing Clemont to quickly shake his head and then turn around, trying to act as normal as he possibly could.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly, glancing around to see that most of the students had made their way out the doors of the class. "I guess we should get going, huh?"

Ash nodded, but then looked down to the front of the class where Professor Sycamore was, gathering some of his materials from the class. "Let's just go check with Professor Sycamore about when we're getting the bus to Shalour City. We don't want to be late."

The two of them then gathered their supplies, Clemont carefully putting his notes into his backpack, while Ash rolled his up and did his best to push them in his own bag past the sleeping Rowlet. Once the two of them were ready, Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's shoulder and they made their way down to the front of the class. From the look on Professor Sycamore's face, he seemed to have wanted to speak to them.

"Glad you two decided to stop by," Sycamore said, smiling as he packed his last few items up into a briefcase. "Ready for our trip to Shalour City?"

"We've still gotta get our uniforms and the Pokemon we're bringing, but I think we're feeling good to go," Ash said, taking a deep breath and looking up at Pikachu. "We're gonna take Lumiose University to where it should be. At the top."

Sycamore laughed at that, even clapping a little. "Marvellous! Glad to hear it, Ash. I must admit, I've been worried about you since our first match against Laverre, but I had faith that you'd pull through. And Agatha and Flint kept telling me they'd make sure all of you were on track to be ready for our next match. We're definitely lucky to have them with us."

"We sure are," Ash agreed, as Clemont nodded. "Agatha's been keeping us busy with the training, and Flint's been keeping us motivated for the next match. And Dawn says the Performance Team is doing really well with Fantina as well. We're not having a repeat of match number one. Shalour had better watch out."

"Well, from what I know, they'll be tough to beat. Especially with Korrina as Captain of their Battle Team and with Gurkinn leading their training, they'll definitely be ready." Sycamore smiled as he spoke, looking carefully at Ash. "That's the kind of thing you _want_ , I presume?"

Ash pumped his fist, Pikachu doing so as well, at the same time. "You've got to beat the best, to be the best. If we aren't facing strong trainers, we won't be ready for our rematch against Laverre. I want to beat Anton the next time we meet, and battling tough opponents will help me do that."

"Do you think the other trainers will be as strong as Korrina?" Clemont asked, hoping to have a little more information on his opponents than he'd had the last time. Considering Korrina had been scouting their tryouts, he knew Shalour would be ready and would have a plan, so he wanted to at least have an idea of what they were up against.

"Well, I wasn't a fan of the idea of scouting out our opponents like Laverre and Shalour did," Sycamore admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as though he felt bad about that given the result of their first match. "Even when I brought up the idea with Agatha, she threatened to beat me with her cane if I tried to go through with it. I do know about Gurkinn, though, from some of the work he and I have done together on Mega Evolution. Believe me, Shalour will have a battle plan, and they will stick to it. Gurkinn never relies on strength alone. Like you Ash, he focuses on the bond between trainer and Pokemon, and how that will bring out their greatest strength, even without the Pokemon mega evolving. Before our match against Laverre, I would have thought Shalour would be our toughest opponent. And that they may still be."

"Gurkinn did seem to know a lot about Pokemon when I met him," Ash said, biting his lip as the memory came to him. "He really seemed to know a lot about how to perfect the bond needed for Mega Evolution. I bet Korrina's way stronger than she was the last time I battled her if she's been working with him."

"Gurkinn is Korrina's grandfather, correct?" Clemont asked, wondering where he'd heard that name before.

Ash nodded, looking back at him. "Yeah, he used to be the Shalour Gym Leader. Korrina said that he taught her everything she knows, so with how strong she is, I bet he was probably a _really_ tough Gym Leader to beat."

Sycamore laughed at that, shaking his head in amusement. "Many young trainers left his gym very frustrated, I'll tell you that. If you didn't have any experience, you likely weren't walking out of the Shalour Gym with a gym badge. However, win or lose, I think trainers were always able to learn something from him. I'm sure that his team at Shalour College is much the same in what they take from him. I doubt Korrina's the only one who will be a threat. Far from it."

"Well, we'll be ready for whatever they've got," Ash assured Professor Sycamore. "We've all been training hard, and we know to expect a tough challenge."

"As long as you aren't late," Sycamore said, suddenly looking at his watch. "You've still got some time, but you two should make sure to go and get your things for the road trip. We've got a long ride ahead, so we need to leave in good time. The bus will be leaving from the Pokemon Centre in about an hour."

"Oh...I hope Clembot will be okay with the gym," Clemont muttered, feeling a little nervous. He'd made the arrangements the night before, but he still felt a little uneasy about leaving the gym for the weekend without being there in case of any trouble.

"Meyer told me he'll be checking in on the gym this weekend, so you don't need to worry about that, Clemont," Sycamore assured him. "You can focus on the IPL. Both of you can. I'll see you both at the Pokemon Centre. You might want to get there a little early. I hear Serena will be receiving some good news."

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed, looking excitedly at Clemont. "Think it's about Absol?"

"Only one way to find out," Clemont said, gesturing to the door. "We'd better get going if we're gonna go early." Ash nodded, and the two of them quickly shouldered their bags again, making their way to the door. "See ya later, Professor Sycamore."

A few minutes later, when they'd made it outside and were heading to the residence building, Clemont looked up at Prism Tower poking up above the buildings of Lumiose City, still a little anxious about leaving his gym for the weekend. If they weren't somewhat rushed to get over to the Pokemon Centre, he would've made one last stop before heading there, just to make sure things were in order. Ash wasn't going to have any of that, though.

"Come on, Clemont! We've gotta keep moving!" he yelled, waiting impatiently at a crosswalk up ahead.

"I'm...coming...just...wait," Clemont panted, doing his best to run to catch up to his surprisingly energetic friend. _Better than the last few weeks, I guess._

Once he caught up, Ash laughed, looking a little apologetic. "Sorry, I'm just excited to see what's up with Serena and Absol. We could probably use a good boost before our big match."

"Well, it's good to see you all psyched up, Ash, but just make sure I can keep up with you. I haven't come up with an invention to make me faster just yet," Clemont muttered, sighing in relief as a traffic light held them up.

"Science is so amazing," Ash whispered, almost like a reflex, before looking back at Clemont and laughing. "You can worry about your inventions later. We've got our battles to look forward to. Time to get the Lumiose Luxrays our first win!"

* * *

"Well, Serena, it looks like Absol's recovery is coming along very well," Nurse Joy said, as she removed a bandage from Absol's leg. "In fact, within a few weeks, he'll have made as close to a full recovery as we could have ever hoped for. I must say, the progress he's made is astounding."

Serena felt like jumping up and down with how excited she was, but she managed to control herself, as she was currently holding her and Ash's egg in her arms. Not to mention, she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Nurse Joy and Marie, who was there with Happiny. "That's amazing, Nurse Joy!" Serena exclaimed, looking excitedly at Absol, who was noticeably happy about this news as well. "Does this mean he'll be out of the Pokemon Centre soon?"

Nurse Joy and Marie exchanged a look, smiling as though they knew something that Serena didn't. Apparently they did, as Marie laughed and said, "Well, aren't we going to tell her?"

"Sol?" Absol was apparently just as confused as Serena, and the two of them looked at one another, Absol tilting his head curiously.

Nurse Joy giggled, seemingly enjoying the curious excitement. "The thing is, Serena...I think Absol's next stage of recovery involves him being a little more active."

Serena stared back at the Pokemon nurse, not saying anything. She could feel her heart beating a little faster in excitement, but part of her was a little unsure. It had only been a few weeks since Absol had exhausted himself with his trek through Lumiose City. Being more active sounded a little risky when it came to his situation. Serena finally found her voice and expressed her concerns. "But Nurse Joy, isn't it a bit early? It hasn't been that long since the night he came to find me."

Joy nodded, clearly understanding the concern, and perhaps expecting it. "It was a slight setback in some ways, yes, but perhaps it has given Absol a bit of an extra push towards his recovery."

"Absol," Absol grunted, obviously in agreement with that statement.

"Absol's been working very hard with the various exercises he's required to do, and he's been careful not to overwork himself," Nurse Joy continued, smiling at Absol. "Going to see you tired him out, and definitely put some unnecessary strain on his legs, but in terms of giving him extra motivation and getting past some of his fears, it was also a step forward. It showed him, and us, that the sooner he's on his feet, the better. As long as he isn't walking all over Lumiose City that is."

Serena took a deep breath, looking over at Absol once again. The Disaster Pokemon's eyes were shining. He seemed to be trying to keep his excitement somewhat hidden, but it wasn't working too well. He knew what Nurse Joy was implying, as did Serena. "So, what you're saying is...?"

"Absol can leave the Pokemon Centre!" Marie almost yelled. "His next step is to get some time outside. You know what that means, right?"

"If you're both willing," Nurse Joy said, walking over to stand by Absol, "I think it would be good for Absol to spend the rest of his recovery time with you, Serena. He'll be okay at the Pokemon Garden at the residence building while you're at classes, and since he's already shown an interest in your performances, I'm sure he'd also like to watch your training sessions."

Serena was quiet for a moment, trying to take it all in. Of course, she'd wondered about this exact scenario, in fact she'd been hoping for it. She'd even somewhat expected it, even having offering to teach Absol about performances. She hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, though, especially after he'd overworked himself the night he'd gone looking for her. But she couldn't hold back the smile, and when she looked at Absol, she could see just how happy he was.

"I've spoken with Professor Sycamore, and he says that Absol is welcome on the bus to Shalour City," Nurse Joy added, looking up at the clock. "And from the looks of things, that isn't long from now. So Serena, what do you think?"

Serena didn't even hesitate, looking right at Absol as she answered. "If Absol's up for it, I'd love to have him come along. We'll have him running around Lumiose City in no time, and it won't tire him out at all next time."

"Sol!" Absol agreed enthusiastically, standing up on his bed and straightening himself up to show how ready he was. With a bit of help from Nurse Joy, he dropped down to the ground, and then walked over to Serena, looking up at her excitedly. For a Pokemon that had been harmed in the cruelest of ways by a human, Serena was amazed at how much Absol seemed to trust her.

She knelt down slowly, positioning herself so that she was at eye level with Absol. The excitement in his eyes made her heart feel lighter, making her smile even wider. And as she smiled, she could see Absol's eyes shining brighter, more than ready to move on to a far better time in his life. He was ready for a life that he truly deserved.

"That settles it, then," Serena said, reaching forward and hugging Absol tightly, fingers running through his soft fur as she remembered how matted it had been after his abuse at the hands of that Pokemon Hunter. She finally leaned back and looked Absol in the eyes. "You can be our mascot for the weekend. Uh...well you and Clemont's Luxray, I guess."

Absol seemed pleased with that suggestion, and with the decision made, Nurse Joy was quick to get things ready for the Disaster Pokemon's long awaited departure from the Pokemon Centre. As Serena got her things ready for the bus departure, which was fairly close, Nurse Joy assembled some items which she gave to Marie, just in case there were any issues. Serena was a little confused as to why Nurse Joy didn't give _her_ the items, until Marie excitedly told her why.

"I'm going with you guys!" she announced. "Professor Sycamore wants someone there to help if any of the Pokemon get hurt, and since Nurse Joy is busy here, I'm the Nurse Joy for the team!"

Serena was happy with that idea, and with that, things were all arranged for their trip. Serena and Marie guided Absol out of his room and out into the lobby of the Pokemon Centre, being quite careful as they wanted to make sure he was okay with walking, but once they were out, he took a few steps ahead, looking quite comfortable.

"Wow, Absol, you look great!" a familiar voice said, causing the Disaster Pokemon to look up in surprise. Serena followed his gaze, noticing Ash and the rest of the team were all waiting at a table for her and Marie, and outside, a bus with a roaring Luxray on the side appeared to be waiting.

"We've got big news," Serena said, smiling at Ash, barely able to control her excitement. "Absol's coming with us! He's ready to leave the Pokemon Centre, so I'll be watching over him to make sure his recovery continues to go well."

"That's awesome, Serena!" Shauna shouted, rushing forward towards Absol. Her sudden movement made him back up a bit, and she slowed down, quickly realizing that he was still very uneasy with anyone not named Serena or Nurse Joy. "Are you gonna cheer us on, Absol?"

Absol watched the Performer for a moment, still looking a little uneasy with how quickly she'd approached him, but a moment later, he nodded. "Sol," he answered, before glancing back at Serena and taking a couple of steps backward.

"I'm gonna be coming with you guys as well," Marie told the group, holding up her medical supplies that were in a bag. "I'm gonna be the team Nurse Joy for the trip."

"Great!" Ash said, giving her a thumbs up. "Although...I hope we don't need you for anything serious."

"I doubt it," Professor Sycamore assured the group, many seeming a little nervous at that statement. "And it will be good to have some extra support for the team. In fact, we've got quite a contingent coming with us," he added, looking towards the doors of the Pokemon Centre as they opened up, the familiar faces of Clemont's younger sister, Bonnie, and their dad, Meyer, coming through. "Hello there, Meyer and Bonnie. Glad you made it."

"Well, Bonnie didn't want to miss this chance," Meyer laughed out, looking down at his daughter, who was smirking at a shocked Clemont.

"Daddy arranged for me to come on the trip with you, Clemont! Isn't it great?! I'll be able to find you a keeper!" Bonnie's eyes then suddenly snapped to Serena, Shauna, Dawn and then Marie. "Unless any of you would still like to be his keeper?"

"Um...it's okay, Bonnie," Shauna said, giggling as she noticed Clemont's bright red face. "But I will tell you there's a keeper Clemont has his eye on in Shalour City. I bet you'll enjoy getting to see her."

Serena noticed Professor Sycamore gesturing for the rest of the team to start heading out to the bus, letting Clemont talk with his father a few moments. As she stepped outside, Ash started walking next to her. "So it looks like Absol's managed to recover pretty well," he said, watching as the Disaster Pokemon walked ahead of the two of them, only limping slightly. "You did a great job with him."

"Don't forget that you were the one to save him," Serena pointed out, remembering how quick he'd been to act with Pikachu and Rowlet.

Ash shrugged awkwardly at that, and they finished their approach to the bus in silence. Once they were there, some of the others started getting into the bus, while the driver loaded up some of the bags in a compartment below. As Trevor, Tierno, Marie and Dawn made their way onto the bus, Sycamore, Fantina and Flint following behind them, Agatha stepped up to stand behind both Ash and Serena.

"Ready for the big weekend, you two?" she asked, causing them both to jump up a bit, as though it was Agatha's Gengar that had popped up behind them.

"Uh...yeah," Ash said awkwardly, before turning around to face the Kanto Elite Four member. "Pikachu and I got our spark back against Team Rocket. We're not going down without a fight."

"I certainly hope so, but do make sure not to put too much pressure on yourself," Agatha warned, tapping her cane on the ground. "Stay loose. From what Sycamore tells me, this will not be an easy set of battles. Serena, you'll need to be ready as well. Never underestimate your opponent. Shalour's Performance Team will be looking to bounce back from a loss as well."

"I'll be ready," Serena assured her, looking down and meeting Absol's gaze. "I _am_ ready."

"Good to hear it," Agatha said, smiling and giving a quick nod to the two trainers. As she headed over towards the steps leading into the bus, she turned around once more. "Might want to listen to Clemont's sister about this one, Ash," she said, before stepping onto the bus, smirking as she noticed Serena's eyes widen.

"Huh? What did Bonnie say?" Ash asked, immediately looking at Serena with a clueless expression. "What does she mean?"

Serena didn't know what to say, and sighed in relief as Clemont, Bonnie and Meyer made their way out of the Pokemon Centre in that moment, Bonnie rushing ahead and into the bus, while her brother and father stopped in front of Ash and Serena.

"Well, good luck you three," Meyer said, waving up at Bonnie, who was already at her seat and looking out the window. "Make sure Bonnie doesn't do anything too...silly," he added, looking down at Clemont. "Don't worry, I'm sure she won't bug that Korrina girl too much." He smirked as Clemont's face went red again. "Ah...so Shauna was right. Interesting."

"Dad!" Clemont whined, as Serena giggled, and Ash stared, clueless once again.

"Off you go, Clemont," Meyer said, ignoring the complaining Clemont, and pointing at the bus. "You'd better get going."

As Serena, Ash and Clemont made their way onto the bus, Absol with them, the engine started, making all those seated cheer in excitement. Spirits had been low as they'd fallen on home turf to Laverre, but now, with their first road trip, they were ready to get their first win.

Clemont sat down next to Shauna as Ash and Serena sat at the back of the bus, with Absol taking the seat between them. As the bus started moving, the team gathered on the one side of the bus, waving out to the students who'd gathered along the street to watch them go, cheering for the team to represent the school well.

Serena could hear cheers of "Go Luxrays Go!" and "Lu-Mi-Ose!"

Then, as just before they were too far to hear anything from him, Meyer could be heard calling out, "Clemont! Say hi to Korrina for me!"

 _Poor Clemont._

* * *

"Shedinja, use String Shot!"

"Counter with Bone Rush!" Korrina yelled, keeping a close eye on her opponent on the other end of the battlefield. He was actually Captain of the Performance Team, but the Shalour Gym Leader was well aware of his battle resumé.

"Ru ru!" Lucario shouted, bending his body low, and bringing his arms up, forming the long bone that he held up in front of himself as the line of web shot towards him. He started spinning it rapidly, the bone appearing like some kind of helicopter propeller in front of him. The webs were quickly deflected away, seemingly evaporating as they made contact.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Dusk," Korrina announced confidently, as Lucario stepped back, looking quite pleased with his counterattack. "Lost your battling touch with all those contests?"

Dusk shrugged, adjusting his green vest around his grey shirt. He turned his head to the side, his black hair, tied in a ponytail, highlighted in the lights of the gym's battlefield. "Guess I haven't been training as much as I should. You did leave Lucario vulnerable, though. Shedinja could've easily attacked with Aerial Ace while you blocked String Shot with Bone Rush."

"He's right, Korrina," Gurkinn's voice called out, near the entrance, apparently having just arrived to see the last exchange between Shedinja and Lucario. "Your movements are predictable. Lucario is slowed by your arrogance."

"Arrogance?" Korrina asked, feeling a little hurt by that. Her grandfather wasn't exactly easy on her all the time, but he wasn't usually harsh in his criticism like this. "We couldn't get hit, so what was I supposed to do?

Gurkinn smiled, walking forward to stand at the side of the battlefield, where a referee would normally stand. "Easy, Korrina, I know you've been training harder than you ever have before. I can see how much you and Lucario have grown together. That's not to say that you're not making mistakes. Look at this battle, here. You've been drawn into a long range fight, and while you have defences for it, you don't look at where you're vulnerable. You feel as though you're dictating the match, allowing your opponent to lull you into a false sense of security."

"Uh...well I didn't really see that, but I could see an opening," Dusk said, looking a little uncomfortable with Gurkinn there.

"That's because you've been slacking in my classes, Dusk," Gurkinn answered with a cough, looking unimpressed. "After your Top Eight showings in Johto and Unova, I thought I was getting a student that took these things seriously."

"Hey, don't be mean, Grandpa," Korrina interrupted, casting an apologetic look towards Dusk. "Dusk is still a good trainer. He's the only one who got us a point for the Performance Team against Coumarine. Why he's not getting points for the Battle Team...that's another thing."

"I'm more concerned about making you better trainers, than having you win IPL matches," Gurkinn muttered, shaking his head. "The IPL is not always an indication of who the greatest trainers are, particularly in the beginning of the season. It must be used as a teaching tool, to give trainers the tools to realize their full potential." He shrugged after that, smiling a little. "That doesn't mean I don't want you to win our weekend matchup with Lumiose University, of course. I have a little bet with Professor Sycamore, so do make sure you win."

"I guess this'll be my first chance to battle Dawn, the Coordinator from Sinnoh," Dusk chimed in, sounding a little excited. "I used to watch some of her Contest battles when I was travelling for gym badges. She's part of the reason I decided to try coordinating."

"She's very experienced," Gurkinn warned, looking seriously towards Dusk. "You must be careful not to let your old battle history and style influence you."

"Hey, contests are just a hobby for me," Dusk pointed out. "I'm just hoping to see what Dawn and the others are capable of. I thought they'd be the favourites, but they were beaten pretty badly by Laverre."

"As long as Ash is on their team, I bet Lumiose will bounce back soon," Korrina said, looking back at her grandfather. "We'll need to be ready."

"In that case, continue with your battle," Gurkinn suggested, nodding to the two Pokemon in the middle of the battlefield. "Dusk, while you may think of coordinating as a hobby, make sure to be proud of what you bring to your battle. You must always be prepared and can't rely on strength and skill alone."

"What about me, Grandfather?" Korrina asked, feeling the urge to continue the battle right away, but knowing it was a good idea to focus her training on what Gurkinn suggested, even if it wasn't easy.

Gurkinn paused a moment, looking between Lucario and Korrina, seemingly studying them. "Don't be overconfident. Slow the match down if you can't keep up the pace, and speed it up once you hold the advantage. Focus on where you and Lucario can excel, but keep in mind when you are vulnerable. Whether you battle Ketchum, or either of the other two trainers from Lumiose, you'll need to know your limits."

"I did battle Ash before, remember?" Korrina muttered, wishing for once that Gurkinn would sound a little more confident in her.

"That was many months ago," Gurkinn answered, looking at Korrina's Lucario as he spoke, as though remembering the battle. "Ash will be a different trainer by now, just as you are. Besides, it might do you some good to see if you can battle against one of the others. The Lumiose Gym Leader, perhaps? Understanding how someone in a position similar to yours handles their training will do you some good."

Korrina shrugged, not really caring who she was going to battle. She would've liked to battle Ash again, sure, but as long as she had a good challenge, she'd be up for anything. She knew that Clemont and Trevor had a lot to offer anyways, based on what she'd seen during her scouting trip. Battling one of them would be an exciting match for sure.

"Well, if you want to get ready, let's get our battle going again," Dusk called out, narrowing his eyes and pointing ahead, his Shedinja immediately getting ready to move. "String Shot, let's go!"

Korrina smirked, glad that Dusk had made the first move. She was ready to show Gurkinn just what she was capable of. "Lucario, out of the way, and then use Aura Sphere!"

"Ru!" Lucario grunted, leaping back, getting out of the way in plenty of time as Shedinja's String Shot struck the place where he'd been standing. He slid back a few feet as he put his arms at his side, forming the large blue sphere, launching it forward just as Shedinja's attack ended, leaving a patch of webbing on the ground.

"Aura Sphere won't work!" Dusk called out happily. "Use Aerial Ace to go through, and then use Shadow Ball!"

"Take it, and use Metal Sound!" Korrina ordered, glancing over at Gurkinn, noticing a little smile from him that filled her with confidence.

As the blue sphere sailed towards Shedinja, it darted high into the air, and then dove, darting through the Aura Sphere with a white glow coming from its body as it sped towards its target. For a moment, Korrina and Lucario watched as Shedinja disappeared, before it suddenly burst through the Aura Sphere unharmed, a black and purple ball of energy forming in front of it. Just as the Shadow Ball was launched forward, Lucario stood up straight, holding his arms out, and slamming his paws together. As the Shadow Ball struck him, exploding in a cloud of smoke, causing him to slide back a few feet, loud, ear rattling sound waves extended outwards, seemingly gripping Shedinja and holding it in place.

"Now, Bone Rush!" Korrina shouted, smiling widely and pointing ahead, sensing the perfect opportunity to take over the battle.

"Ru ru!" Lucario answered, spreading his arms out in front of himself, sounding just as confident as Korrina felt. The bright, white light extended between his paws, formed in the shape of a long bone. He then kicked off hard, Shedinja still reeling from the Metal Sound distraction. With a massive upward swing, Lucario's attack sped towards Shedinja, and...missed as the bug and ghost type easily rolled upward.

"Korrina...you do know Shedinja's immune to ground and fighting type attacks, correct?" Gurkinn called out, as Lucario dropped back to the ground, looking up in frustration.

Korrina paled at that, feeling kind of dumb for letting that slip her mind. In that case...how was she supposed to land a single attack on Shedinja? "I...might've forgotten that."

"Heh...I think I forgot too," Dusk admitted, "otherwise I wouldn't have used Shedinja."

"Oh Arceus, it's going to be a busy year with students like this," Gurkinn muttered, shaking his head.

"Hey, I know it's immune...I just wasn't thinking of it when we started the battle," Korrina argued, blushing in embarrassment.

"Uh...I think we had a class about this a couple of weeks ago," Dusk said, looking nervously at Gurkinn. "That wasn't your class was it?"

"Luckily not," Gurkinn replied with a dark stare. He shook his head for another couple of moments before looking back towards Korrina. "This does at least give us an opportunity to address a weakness in Lucario. Something that can't be ignored if you wish to be a respected Gym Leader in Kalos."

Korrina narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean? I know we're not as strong as you, but we beat most of the trainers that challenge the gym."

"That's not the point. As a respected Gym Leader, your job is to prepare the trainers you battle. Prepare them for the league, or whatever challenges they may face afterwards. Winning and losing is not necessarily part of that." Gurkinn sighed, walking over to stand next to Korrina as he pulled out a pokeball. With a light toss, his pokeball opened up in front of them, his own Lucario emerging. "Do you remember our last battle, Korrina?" She nodded, unsure of where this was going. "What moves did my Lucario make?"

"Um...Double Team, Aura Sphere, Bone Rush and Close Combat...I think." She was pretty sure she had that right, but Gurkinn wasn't giving anything away with his look.

Finally, he nodded, smiling, obviously pleased Korrina had remembered correctly. "Do you see anything wrong with that moveset?"

"Um...not sure," Korrina admitted, rubbing the back of her neck, once again feeling embarrassed. "Seems pretty strong to me."

"If I battle against a flying type, will Bone Rush not be useless?" Gurkinn asked, raising an eyebrow, watching Korrina's expression closely. "If I use Close Combat or Aura Sphere, they will do little, depending on how the opponent is trained. In the case of a ghost type, I'm left with only one move that can do much damage, and with a fire type, I'll be limited to just one effective move. Flying types will likely be used at this gym, as it's known as the fighting type gym. Ghost types, fairy types and psychic types as well. You need to be prepared for trainers to be ready for this, and if they aren't, they need to learn this lesson themselves."

"So why are you using that moveset?" Dusk asked, watching from his side of the battlefield as Gurkinn's Lucario seemed to be demonstrating specific ways to launch Aura Sphere to Korrina's Lucario.

"Education," Gurkinn answered simply. "Lucario, show off your new move please."

"Ru!" his Lucario answered quickly. It leaped away from Korrina's Lucario, standing up straight and aiming towards the ceiling with one paw. It seemed to focus a moment, then suddenly, a shining dragon-shaped blast of energy shot forth, flying up into the air and missing exploding against the ceiling only due to a quick Aura Sphere fired afterwards to deflect it.

"Dragon Pulse. Doesn't deal with the fairy types, but it allows another option for those who come prepared for a fighting type gym. Be creative, Korrina, there is only so much that your strength will do. Trust Lucario, and know what works for him, and yourself." Gurkinn smiled at that, before holding up his pokeball and recalling Lucario back. "And don't forget to train your other Pokemon. You and Lucario can grow stronger by learning along with the others. Same goes for you, Dusk. Don't sit around doing nothing. Know your limits and know your strengths."

* * *

As the drive to Shalour City continued, Ash felt surprisingly calm, sitting at the back of the bus with Absol between him and Serena, the two of them having dozed off. Seeing how peaceful they looked made him feel embarrassed about how he'd acted the last few weeks. Instead of focusing on the positive things that made him stronger, he focused on the negatives that held him back. He'd even dragged his friends down with him, making them worry, and even making them think negatively about themselves.

He chuckled a little, thinking of Team Rocket and their attempt to steal Pikachu. Sure, he had nearly lost, but Serena and Dawn had been there, along with Agatha and Flint. He felt lousy about letting Jessie mess with his head, but his friends had been there. They'd been there this whole time to support him, to get him out of that dark frame of mind. Was he nervous about his upcoming battle? Yeah, and maybe that had something to do with his losing streak. But he was more excited for the challenge, and win or lose, he wasn't going to lose himself again. Team Rocket was often a pain, but in this case, maybe they'd helped him.

"Pika?" Ash glanced down at his lap, seeing Pikachu coming to from his own nap and looking up at his trainer, looking a little concerned.

"Hey buddy," Ash said happily, rubbing the electric mouse behind the ears.

"Chaaa," Pikachu squeaked happily, closing his eyes in contentment.

For a few minutes, they sat silently, watching the trees go by as they drove. Ash could see a sign up ahead that indicated they were still about an hour away from reaching the coast, where it would still take a while to reach Shalour City. They still had quite a long bus ride ahead of them. Ash enjoyed it, though, as he was able to see some of the sights from his journey, such as the Battle Chateau. Seeing it again made him want to go back, and he made a mental note to see if he could head over there one weekend. It would definitely be good training.

It was definitely a quiet bus ride, with nearly everyone having fallen asleep. Professor Sycamore and Flint were having a conversation at the front of the bus in hushed voices, while Shauna was playing with her Skitty next to a snoring Clemont, while Bonnie watched on tiredly, smirking at the sight of her brother, looking tempted to say something. Other than that, though, everything was quiet, with a few snores and the sounds of deep breathing coming from the sleeping trainers.

Ash's gaze then drifted over to his left, where Serena slept, with Absol's head resting in her lap. Serena's breathing was clouding up the window a little bit, and Ash watched her for a couple of minutes, smiling at how peaceful she looked. When he realized how long he'd been staring, though, he quickly turned away, looking back out the window on his side, feeling his cheeks heat up like they had when Serena had been holding his arm.

"She was really worried about you that night Team Rocket went after you," a voice in front of Ash said, and he jumped a little, seeing Dawn looking back at him from her seat in front of him. "Well, everyone's been worried about you lately, but Serena seems to have been the most concerned."

Ash stared back for a moment, a clueless expression on his face that seemed to frustrate Dawn, as she rolled her eyes at the look he was giving her. "Um...I guess that's just what Serena's like," he finally said, smiling as he looked over at Serena once more, before turning back to look at Dawn. "Look at what she's done for Absol. Who knows where he'd be without her?"

Dawn nodded, sighing a little as though thinking Ash was missing something. He had no idea what it could be, though, so he didn't bother asking. "So...feeling good for the match?" Dawn asked, after a few moments of silence. "I'm nervous after last time, but there's no way it can be any worse, right?"

Ash laughed at that, shaking his head and glancing down at Pikachu, who smiled nervously. "I guess not," Ash finally said, looking out the window again. "From what Professor Sycamore said, we're in for a tough couple of days, though. I know Korrina's really strong, and I bet Gurkinn will have a pretty good team with her. Their Performance Team probably won't be easy to beat either."

"Well if we want to be ready to get our revenge on Laverre, we need to beat tough opponents, right?" Dawn pointed out, narrowing her eyes in determination. Ash could tell she really wanted that chance to beat Laverre, as they all probably did.

"No need to worry, right?" Ash said, getting a laugh from Dawn at his use of her catchphrase. "We've got five matches to go, so there's no reason we can't catch up. The Battle Team can pull even with Shalour and the Performance Team can get ahead by the end of this matchup. We've still got a long way to go."

"I wish we knew what we were up against," Dawn muttered, looking over nervously towards Professor Sycamore and Fantina at the front of the bus. "Laverre prepared so well for our matchup with them. Maybe we would've done better if we'd known more about them."

Ash shrugged, not really caring much about that. "They can prepare for us all they want. We'll be ready for them our way." He held up his fist, fixing his confident grin on his face. "Besides, I like the challenge in not knowing."

Dawn shrugged at that, apparently deciding it made sense to her. As she opened her mouth to answer, though, a small groan from Ash's left caused them both to look towards Serena. The honey-blonde Performer was blinking as she started to come to, looking down in surprise at Absol who continued to sleep. When she noticed Ash and Dawn looking at her, she smiled, looking a little embarrassed. "Um...was I snoring or something?"

Ash shook his head, laughing a little. "Nah, you've been pretty quiet the whole bus ride. Pretty much everyone has been."

"Not Tierno and Trevor," Dawn muttered, pointing over to the two trainers in the seats behind Flint and Sycamore. Tierno's feet were tapping every few seconds, while he and Trevor snored loudly. It was almost as though Tierno was dancing to the snores in his sleep. Ash hadn't really noticed their snoring earlier, and supposed they were just now in a much deeper sleep, much like Clemont, who snorted loudly in that moment, getting a few giggles from Shauna and Bonnie.

"I guess we still have quite a bit of time before we get there, huh?" Serena asked, looking out the window of the bus. We haven't even reached the coast yet."

Dawn nodded, looking out the window from the side she and Ash were on. "I don't mind the long ride," she admitted, smiling as she watched a flock of Fletchling fly over the trees to their right. "I haven't seen much of Kalos besides Lumiose City, so this is pretty cool for me."

"We need to show you around more," Serena suggested, straightening up a bit, while making sure not to disturb Absol. "We should all head out for the weekend sometime. Maybe we could go see a showcase and you can see Aria perform in person."

"Yeah, that'd be awesome!" Dawn agreed happily. "I bet I could get a lot of ideas for Contests from her. I've already been getting plenty of ideas from you and Shauna." She then cast a glance towards Tierno before looking back at Ash and Serena and whispering, "I even have a few ideas from Tierno."

"I don't know what kinds of things she'll do that would help you in battles," Serena warned, laughing a little as she looked over to the snoring Tierno, "but hopefully she could give you ideas for some things. And if you do any performances, you'll definitely get something from seeing Aria perform."

"It would definitely be a lot of fun. It might be good to see some different Pokemon in action as well, that I haven't seen before," Dawn added, glancing down at her lap, where Piplup was sleeping. "A lot of people at school are from regions I've been to, so I haven't seen as many new Pokemon as I'd hoped."

"Why don't you try to catch a new Pokemon?" Ash suggested, tensing up in excitement at the thought of going out and searching for Pokemon. As interesting as this school experience had been for him so far, there was nothing like exploring new places and meeting new Pokemon. "I bet you could find some great Pokemon for Contests in Kalos."

"I have been wondering about that," Dawn admitted, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, as though she felt bad about saying it. "I've just been working with the Pokemon I have for so long, it feels like a strange thing to do."

"I know what that's like," Ash said, nodding as he thought of how hard it was to say goodbye to his Pokemon at Professor Oak's lab after a long journey with them. He hadn't even been able to do it after his initial journey through Kanto. "I kept a lot of Pokemon with me after my first journey as well. But by the time I set off for Hoenn, I realized it was a good way for both my Pokemon and me to grow if we spent some time apart, so that I could learn by training even more Pokemon. And now, at Professor Oak's lab, they all have a blast together while I'm not there, and then I train with them when I can. When I'm a Pokemon Master, I'll have tons of different Pokemon to work with, and we'll be able to beat anyone."

"The way you two talk makes me feel kind of silly for only having three Pokemon," Serena said, looking down at Absol. Ash knew she was wondering about whether or not he'd eventually join her.

"It's never too late to find more Pokemon," Ash told his two friends. "It only makes your other Pokemon more psyched up, since they have more friends to work and train with."

The conversation about catching Pokemon seemed to have grabbed the attention of Bonnie, as she suddenly appeared in the seat in front of Serena, looking wide-eyed at Ash, her Dedenne on top of her head. "Can I come catch Pokemon with you guys?!" she asked, perhaps a little too loudly, as Marie seemed to stir awake next to Dawn. "Dedenne could probably use a new friend."

"Nenene!" Dedenne agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

"Catching new Pokemon?" Marie asked tiredly, now sitting up in her seat. "I've never caught one before. I'd like to try."

"Haha, maybe we need to go on a field trip," Serena suggested, looking over at Ash. "We can go see a showcase and then Ash can help us catch new Pokemon."

"Hey, when did I become a teacher?" Ash asked jokingly, looking up to see Sycamore glancing back, chuckling at the conversation he was overhearing. He looked a little relieved looking back at the group of trainers. Ash supposed Sycamore was thinking about his negativity lately, and what impact it might've had.

Luckily for Ash and the others, though, he felt better. His friends had been there for him, and he knew they were with him now. As long as he had their backs and they had his, they could bounce back from anything. They had a tough match ahead, sure, but it didn't matter who they were up against. Their biggest opponent they had, were themselves. If they could stay ahead of that, they would always have a chance. Laverre might've beaten them, Shalour might beat them this time, but Ash and the others weren't going to lose themselves.

 **Author's Note:**

So...Ash seems good, does he not? It all comes down to how he battles, though? Does he, as he told Agatha, have his spark back? Does the whole team? Time will tell.

As for Korrina, we got introduced to the Captain of the Shalour Performance team. Thank you to Jagulov on Twitter for submitting Dusk, the newest character. Other than that, I've just got Gurkinn being tough on Korrina, inspiring her to become...more. Something that might tie in nicely to LaserBladeShipping...just sayin'. I don't wanna spoil that, though.

See you next time...for the Lumiose Luxrays vs the Shalour Lucarios. Epic team naming system I've got here.


	28. Clemontic Geared Up

**Author's Note:**

IPL round 2 coming up, and this time, the battles come first. I apologize in advance for a very goofy little moment for Clemont. Anyways, let's go to the chapter.

 **Chapter 28: Clemontic Geared Up**

The bus arrived in Shalour City fairly late on the Friday night, so the Lumiose University crew were quick to get to bed, their first meetings with the Shalour College IPL teams left until the next day. When Ash woke up in his room in the Pokemon Centre, hearing Clemont already getting his things ready to go and get breakfast, he quickly got up, rushing to the washroom to get himself ready, and in his uniform. When he got out, Ash saw Pikachu up and ready to go, while Clemont was checking to make sure he had his backpack in order.

"Ready to go win this thing?" Ash asked, holding up his fist, smiling confidently. He was ready to show his friends and Pokemon that he wasn't letting Anton, or the rest of his losses, get to him. It was time to move forward. When Sycamore had mentioned that the Battle Team would be starting off the weekend's matchups, Ash had been immediately fired up.

Clemont chuckled a little nervously, fiddling with his hat, clearly still as uncomfortable with it as he'd been the first time he'd worn it. "I guess so. It definitely can't go worse than last time, right? And at least Korrina might be a better sport."

Ash shrugged as Pikachu joined the two of them at the door and they exited the room, thinking of the Shalour Gym Leader and the battle he'd had with her way back for his Rumble Badge. "Korrina might be a better sport, but she definitely won't be an easy opponent to beat. It'll be really fun to battle her again, though. How do you feel about another battle against Lucario, Pikachu?" he asked, as Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder and they started heading down the hall towards the lobby of the Pokemon Centre.

"Pika! Chu pi!" Pikachu announced, tensed up in excitement, looking more than ready to go toe to toe with the powerful fighting type once more. He wasn't one to be scared off by a difficult matchup, and loved a good challenge.

"It'll be interesting to meet the other members of the team," Clemont said, pushing open the door that led into the lobby. Ash could see that Dawn and Serena were already sitting at a table, the latter looking up as he and Clemont entered, waving them over. "I hope they're not as...um...you know, disinterested as the Laverre trainers."

"I hope not," Ash said with a laugh. The two then made their way over to the table Dawn and Serena were at, Ash sitting down next to Dawn, while Clemont sat next to Serena. Ash thought he saw a flash of disappointment on Serena's face as she looked at him, and wondered if something was wrong with Absol. When he asked, though, she just blushed, quickly shaking her head.

"Oh, no Absol's fine," she said, looking down at her plate of breakfast. "Nurse Joy's doing a quick checkup on him before we head over to the battlefield. It looked like he'd had a pretty good sleep last night, so I think he'll be ready to cheer everyone on."

Dawn giggled a little, getting a curious look from the three at the table. "I certainly hope he's well rested. He slept on your lap the whole bus ride!"

Serena smiled at that, looking over towards the front desk, as though hoping Nurse Joy was going to show up in that moment with Absol. "I'm glad Absol was able to come with us," she finally said, turning back to the group, while a Wigglytuff appeared at the table to give Ash and Clemont a plate of food each. "I'm hoping he can learn a few things about performances, and maybe even contests, with the matches tomorrow. And of course, he'll be able to learn about never giving up from watching you battle, Ash."

Ash rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed at that, as Dawn giggled at him. "I bet Absol will learn lots from us," he finally said, beginning to eat. "He's already shown some real guts with the way he's healed so far. Escaping from that hunter showed that he was determined."

As Ash dug into his food, he noticed the front door of the Pokemon Centre opening, just as Professor Sycamore was coming into the lobby, followed by Agatha, Flint and Fantina, all holding clipboards like they'd been making notes. Ash had no idea why they'd found the need to do that, but didn't really care at the moment, as he noticed just who was entering the Pokemon Centre.

"Korrina!" he exclaimed, waving and then quickly stuffing some more food in his mouth, trying to finish as quickly as possible. He started choking, though, and as Korrina looked over and started approaching, her eyes widened as he began coughing, only stopped by Dawn hitting his back.

"Try not to choke to death before our battles, Ash," Korrina joked as she came by the table, Ash taking a quick drink of water to recover. "How's it going, everyone?" she asked, looking at the group, looking a little confused as Clemont avoided eye contact, focusing on his food.

"Not bad," Serena answered, casting a nervous glance towards Ash before looking back at Korrina. "We got in pretty late last night, so I think we're all anxious to get things started."

"Yeah, although I kind of wish the performances started today," Dawn admitted, looking over to where Piplup and Pikachu were eating their food.

"You guys will get your chance soon enough," Korrina assured her, looking behind her as the door opened once again, a few other people, all their age and in uniforms that looked like they represented a Lucario's colouring. The girls were wearing light blue skirts with black tank tops with a yellow stripe at the bottom. The guys wore black pants, and a blue jacket with grey sleeves and a yellow stripe. Both had blue hats wear a Lucario could be seen punching the air. "Looks like my teammates are here, so you'll get to see what you're up against," Korrina added, laughing as Sycamore's group greeted the Shalour students. "You guys finish up eating. I've still gotta go get changed into my uniform."

As Korrina quickly rushed towards where the washrooms were, Ash noticed the activity in the lobby increase even more, as Marie, Bonnie, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor finally entered, quickly approaching and seating themselves at the table next to theirs. "Ready to get your groove on, guys?" Tierno asked, nodding in thanks at the Wigglytuff that appeared quickly to give their plates of food.

"You bet!" Ash said confidently. "Pikachu and I are all set to win this thing."

Trevor and Clemont both nodded in agreement, both looking just as fired up now, especially with the Shalour team now in front of them. "So those are our opponents?" Trevor asked, nodding towards the group of students talking with Professor Sycamore and the coaches. "Anyone know anything about them?"

Ash, and those at his table shook their heads, but surprisingly, Marie spoke up, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the Shalour team. "I think I recognize a couple of them, actually," she said, surprising everyone among the group. She ignored the surprised glances and pointed towards a boy with black hair tied back in a ponytail, who almost seemed to know he was being pointed out, as he looked over and gave a wave, seemingly focusing his gaze on Dawn. "That guy's name is Dusk. He finished in the top eight in the Unova and Johto Leagues. I watched a few tapes of their battles a couple of weeks ago. The guy next to him, Clayton, finished top sixteen in both those leagues. And the one talking to Professor Sycamore is Sumato. He finished top sixteen in the Hoenn League."

Everyone stared at Marie in shock, definitely not having expected her to know so much about the opposing trainers. "How did you learn so much about these people?" Ash asked, laughing a little as the young Joy blushed.

"Well after the last IPL match, I thought I'd see what some of the Nurse Joys could tell me, since they probably see these trainers a lot. I would've told you sooner, but you guys were all so busy with training that I-"

"Marie, you're the best!" Ash interrupted, looking back over to the Shalour students, a couple of them looking back curiously. It seemed like Professor Sycamore was telling them something that wasn't the most exciting of stories, so their attention was wavering. Ash was a little confused, though, as Marie had mentioned three trainers being League trainers, despite the IPL battle teams only having three trainers each, and Korrina obviously being one of them.

"It's not that much information," Marie pointed out, smiling shyly.

"It's definitely a lot more than we had last time," Clemont told her, turning around and glancing over at their opponents. "Anything helps, Marie. It's a good thing you came along."

The group was quick to finish up their meals after that, Clemont pointing out that it looked like Professor Sycamore had forgotten that the teams needed to be introduced to each other. Fortunately, though, this seemed to give Korrina the time she needed to get changed, and as she approached from the washrooms in her outfit, the group got up from their seats to head over to meet the Shalour team, Pikachu running over to hop up onto Ash's shoulder.

"Wow! Korrina, you look great!" Dawn complimented as Korrina joined them, the Shalour Gym leader adjusting her hat as she slowed up to walk next to Clemont, who immediately seemed to tense up at her presence.

"Thanks!" Korrina said, smiling, flicking her hair a little. "I'm not really a fan of these uniforms, but Dusk keeps telling me I look good in it, so I guess it's okay."

"I...I think y-you look good too," Clemont suddenly said, somehow tensing up even more. Ash wondered if he'd eaten something bad, because he seemed to be acting pretty strangely.

"Aww, poor Clemont's jealous," Ash heard Shauna whisper to Serena, which made him even more confused.

"Korrina's a real keeper!" Bonnie added.

Korrina looked quite happy with the compliment, but didn't say anything as they all stopped in front of the Shalour team, just as Professor Sycamore seemed to be finishing up a story about an argument he and Gurkinn had had about Mega Evolution. He greeted the Lumiose students and stepped back, apparently deciding they could introduce themselves. Korrina quickly moved over to stand in front of her team, the boy named Dusk quickly stepping up next to her. "Well, everyone, I'd like you to meet my team. This here is Dusk, the Captain of the Performance Team. He's a Coordinator, but he's mostly participated in League competition before."

Ash nodded, glad to know why there had been three trainers who'd participated in leagues before. Dusk stepped forward as Korrina finished, holding out his hand to Ash, who quickly shook it, also stepping forward, Dawn joining him. Dusk then smiled, looking at Dawn as he shook her hand. "I actually decided to become a Coordinator because of you, Dawn. You're really quite something. Hopefully we can have a good battle tomorrow."

"I'm sure we will," Dawn assured him, smiling a little awkwardly, a little taken aback by Dusk's admission.

Dusk nodded once more, and then proceeded to introduce his Performance Team. "This here is Desiree, an old friend of mine from Violet City in Johto. And these are Melissa and Kathy. Melissa's a Coordinator as well, while Desiree and Kathy are performers." He then smiled again, locking eyes with Serena. "I suppose they'll be going up against the fair Serena, there," he added, winking at her.

Ash's eyes narrowed a little at that, and he quickly nudged Dawn, hoping for her to introduce her team. "Um, right," she muttered, looking back at Tierno, Shauna and Serena. "This is Tierno, a new dancing Coordinator, who also used to compete in regular battles. And I guess you apparently know who Serena and Shauna are. They both did quite well in the Masterclass Showcase here in Kalos."

"Haha, they sure did," Dusk said, winking once more at Serena, and then reaching out to give Dawn an overly long handshake. "Nice to meet you all."

Ash, felt a little tensed up at this point and looked at Korrina, who looked a little surprised at his look, although she managed to quickly recover and started introducing her team, who Ash was familiar with already, thanks to Marie. He then turned to look at Clemont, Bonnie and Trevor, gesturing to them. "Well our team consists of Trevor, Clemont and me. And Clemont's sister Bonnie is here as well," he said, looking back at Korrina, Clayton and Sumato. "Don't expect an easy match from any of us. We're not going down easily."

"Well, we look forward to a tough battle, Ash," Korrina said, smirking as she stepped forward, holding out her hand, which Ash reached out to shake. Her eyes then went behind him, where Clemont and Trevor were standing. "A good battle tells me a lot about a person."

"Marvellous!" Sycamore said, stepping forward, ending the short handshake. "Now, I believe it's time for us to head on out to the battlefield. Gurkinn will likely be waiting for us, and I bet your classmates have already started packing the stands."

* * *

When they arrived at the battlefield, it was to find out that Sycamore was indeed correct about Gurkinn waiting, with a very anxious crowd already packing the stands. Clemont was pretty shocked to see so many students there, and how well set up the battlefield was. It wasn't as big as Lumiose University's, but for what he assumed was a smaller school, with it not being in as big of a city, it was quite impressive.

Gurkinn had been quick to introduce the Lumiose University team to the crowd, where Clemont was surprised to hear boos raining down on him and his friends. He supposed he should have expected it, considering that whenever he'd watched sports, the visiting team was often booed. However, it was still a little unnerving. He was happy to have Ash next to him, though, just laughing it off.

When the introductions were completed, Gurkinn then shook hands with Sycamore, while Korrina, Ash, Dawn and Dusk also shook hands, and then all six of them returned to the sidelines, while a referee approached the opposite side of the battlefield. The Performance teams quickly got themselves seated, while the Battle teams stood by, waiting to see who would go out to battle first. With the way Ash seemed so fired up, Clemont assumed he was likely the most interested in battling first. If Korrina was battling later, though, that would likely force him to wait.

The thought of the Shalour Gym leader caused Clemont to look over towards her once more, while Gurkinn and Sycamore each went to discuss something with their coaches. As they waited, Ash and Trevor started talking, while the two other Shalour battlers were conversing as well, leaving Clemont and Korrina waiting silently.

"You look a little nervous, Clemont," Korrina pointed out, looking him up and down. "You're all tensed up. Are you going to be all right?"

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine," Clemont said awkwardly, feeling his cheeks heat up. Why was he so nervous...again? He glanced over to where his friends were sitting, seeing Serena talking to Absol sitting in front of her, while Shauna and Bonnie giggled, watching Clemont's little conversation that was going on.

"I've been thinking, Clemont," Korrina said, snapping his attention back to her, "I bet Ash is probably expecting to battle me, but..." She shrugged, looking over to Sycamore and Gurkinn, apparently deciding it wasn't worth it.

Clemont wasn't sure what she was going to say, but he glanced over to Ash, seeing him animatedly talking to Trevor. "I think he's excited about battling, regardless. He'll probably just run onto the battlefield no matter who his opponent is right now."

Korrina laughed at that, making Clemont smile a little. "I know how he feels. You should've seen the both of us when we were battling for the Shalour Gym Battle. I've never had a battle like it before, and haven't had one since. I bet it was the same for you when he challenged your gym."

"Um...well I wasn't there," Clemont admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I have a bit of a problem with being at my gym enough. Clembot, the robot that I designed, is usually in charge there. That's why I enrolled at Lumiose University. I want to be a better Gym Leader."

"Oh," Korrina looked a little disappointed at that, making Clemont feel even more embarrassed, but eventually she just smiled, shruggin it off and laughing once more. "I guess you and I are kind of the same, then, Clemont. We're both trying to learn to be better gym leaders."

"Yeah, I guess so," Clemont realized, smiling as well. "Maybe..."

"All right, ladies and gentlemen!" Gurkinn's voice started speaking, as he approached the edge of the battlefield, looking around at the people in the stands, holding up a megaphone. "The first match of the Battle Round of the IPL match between Shalour College and Lumiose University is set to begin. Korrina, Ash, please send forth your first battlers!" As he made his way over to sit with the Shalour team, he quickly nodded to his granddaughter, also giving Clemont a suspicious look, which made the inventor a little more nervous, considering what he'd been about to ask Korrina.

"Awesome!" Korrina exclaimed, pumping her fist and quickly turning around and heading towards her teammates, while Ash and Trevor quickly joined Clemont. "I'm gonna head out first, okay guys?" she said, giving her teammates each a fist bump and heading onto the battlefield.

"All right, if Korrina's going out first, I guess it's you, Ash, right?" Trevor asked, smiling at the raven-haired trainer. "Go show her you mean business!"

"You bet!" Ash said, giving Trevor a fist bump and then reaching out to Clemont to give him one as well. "Cheer me on, okay?"

Clemont held up a fist to meet Ash's, nodding at his friend, but in that moment, he glanced over to see Korrina waiting, holding up her pokeball, watching their group with interest. He didn't know what came over him, but suddenly, there was a fire inside him that gave him a boost of energy. He had no interest in sitting down right now. He wanted to battle. "Ash...hold on," he said, holding his fist back and looking at his friend. "I want this battle."

Both Ash and Trevor looked at him in surprise, the latter's jaw dropping a little. "But...Korrina's got a Mega Lucario. Clemont, you can't win this."

Clemont ignored that, though, watching Ash as his friend stared back, surprise turning into interest. "You're serious about this." It wasn't a question, but Clemont nodded, pulling out Luxray's pokeball. Ash smiled at that, exchanging a look with Pikachu and then nodding, before turning back and holding his fist out once more to Clemont. "In that case, Clemont, go ahead. Show Korrina how great a Gym Leader you are, too."

"I...I'll do my best," Clemont said, nodding seriously and bumping his fist with Ash's and then Trevor's. "Wish me luck." He then took a deep breath, and walked past them, making his way towards his end of the battlefield, unable to stop himself from looking over to Korrina, who looked back in surprise. When he stopped on his side of the battlefield, he held up his pokeball, looking at the referee, ready to start and show his friends, and show Korrina, just what he could do.

"Well this is surprising, Clemont!" Korrina called out to him, smiling excitedly. "Make sure to give me a good battle, all right? I wanna see just what you've got!"

Clemont just nodded, not sure what else to say, and as he noticed the referee holding up his arm, his body tensed, fully realizing what he'd gotten himself into. _Here we go_. As the referee waved his arm down, Clemont threw out his pokeball, just as Korrina threw hers out, Luxray and Lucario appearing opposite one another, both quick to get into battle position. With another wave of his arms, the referee called, "Let the battle begin!" and Clemont immediately knew he was in for one of the toughest battles of his life.

"Lucario, Bone Rush, now!" Korrina yelled immediately, pointing forward and ordering her attack so quickly, that Clemont couldn't even blink in time. He watched, stunned, as Lucario darted forward, a line of dust shooting up behind him while he brought forth his bone of light. Luxray only took one step back as the fighting type reached him, spinning his bone in front of him and then swinging it in an arc in front of himself, slamming it hard into Luxray's shoulder.

"Rayyy!" Luxray roared in pain as he was sent flying to the side of the field, sliding along the ground, dust shooting up around him. The crowd cheered loudly, clearly happy with Korrina's quick start to the match.

Clemont took a deep breath, noticing Korrina doing a little fist bump while Lucario prepared for his next attack. He had to be faster and he had to be smarter. "Luxray, use Electric Terrain!" he ordered, as the Gleam Eyes Pokemon struggled to his feet.

"Lux!" Luxray answered quickly, rising to his feet a little faster, body engulfed in electricity. "Rayyy!" he roared, the electricity shooting out from his body, hitting the field and spreading along it, sparks dancing along the ground. Clemont smirked, seeing Lucario look a little nervously at the sparks of electricity dancing around his feet.

"Don't worry about it, Lucario!" Korrina called out. "Metal Sound, let's go!"

"Ru ru!" Lucario answered, holding his fists out in front of himself, staring straight ahead towards Luxray. He then slammed his fists together, sound waves, immediately shooting out towards the electric type, reaching Clemont's ears as well, and even the crowd by the groans he heard. He saw Luxray wincing, not exactly finding the sound pleasing himself, and he immediately tried to think of a counterattack, knowing he had to get on the move quickly.

"Luxray, fight through it, and use Wild Charge!" he yelled, now holding his ears as the Metal Sound seemed to get worse and worse. Luckily, Luxray managed to hear his order through the terrible sound waves, though, nodding and lowering his body as it became engulfed in electricity once more.

"Ray!" he roared, immediately breaking into a run, going right through the sound waves that continued to head straight towards him. Lucario looked up in surprise, clearly not expecting Luxray to fight through the Metal Sound with such determination. With an extra burst of speed, the electricity across the field from Electric Terrain seemingly giving Luxray a little boost, he managed to reach Lucario before he could get out of the way. With another roar, he slammed his body into the fighting type with as much force as he could muster, sending him flying backwards, smoke trailing from his body from the electric attack, impacting hard with the ground, Korrina calling out to him in concern. Luxray winced from the recoil, but stood up straight, ready to get back into the battle right away.

Korrina seemed surprised by Luxray's powerful counterattack, and Clemont could see that it only had her more fired up. The two exchanged a smile, and then each were quick to make their next orders, knowing it was time to turn up the heat for this battle. "Lucario, Bone Rush again!"

"Counter with Thunder Fang!" Clemont shouted back.

Both Pokemon cried out, each sensing the battle had grown a little more intense. Lucario quickly got to his feet, the bone forming once again as he held it out in front of him. Meanwhile, Luxray roared as his jaws crackled with electricity and he charged forward. The two Pokemon met at the midway point in the battlefield, Lucario's bone slicing out towards Luxray, who ducked low to avoid it, before leaping up to close his jaws on Lucario's arm, which was quickly pulled back. The two Pokemon seemed to dance in the middle of the battlefield, dodging one anothers' attacks and darting forward with their own. Finally, though, Lucario managed to swing out with his bone as Luxray jumped forward with his electricity-covered fangs, the two attacks meeting, Luxray's jaws closing around the bone.

"Throw Lucario!" Clemont quickly ordered, desperate to take advantage of the fighting type being trapped.

"Not so fast!" Korrina shouted back. "Power-Up Punch!" she called out, pulling a fist back, just as Lucario did. They punched forward at the same time, just as Luxray seemed to be attempting to toss Lucario up. As the fighting type was lifted into the air, though, he managed to slam his fist into Luxray's jaw, causing the Gleam Eyes Pokemon to stagger back, Lucario easily getting free. "Now, Aura Sphere!" Korrina added, keeping up the assault.

"Ru!" Lucario grunted, holding his arms at his sides, a blue orb forming as he landed from Luxray's toss. He skidded backwards a couple of feet, but was still able to unleash the attack, sending it whipping towards the staggering Luxray.

It impacted at full speed, Luxray roaring in pain as the blue sphere exploded against him, sending him flying through the air, before he landed hard, sliding along the ground, coming to a stop only a few feet in front of Clemont. The Lumiose Gym Leader looked at his Pokemon with wide eyes, knowing that Lucario's Aura Sphere would've done extra damage after Metal Sound had been used. "Luxray, are you okay to continue?"

"Lux!" Luxray grunted, struggling to his feet, shaking off the dust the was on him. "Luxray!"

Clemont smiled at that, looking across the field towards Korrina, seeing her eyeing the two of them. She smiled back, though, looking quite pleased to see that the battle would continue. Clemont felt that tenseness coming over him again, but he took a deep breath, managing to relax himself. This battle wasn't over yet, and he wanted to show Korrina what he could do.

"All right, Luxray, we can still win this thing. Stay focused. Use Swift!" Clemont ordered, thrusting a fist forward with the call.

"Use Bone Rush to deflect!" Korrina answered quickly.

"Ray!"

"Ru!"

Luxray quickly straightened his tail out behind him, standing up tall and then leaping into the air, spinning around and sending the shining golden stars outwards towards his opponent. Lucario didn't panic, though, forming the bone of light just as quickly and slashing it outwards as each star came towards him, exploding each and every one of them into sparkling golden dust that fell in front of him, shining in the sunlight. Clemont was sure he could hear Serena, Dawn and Shauna gasping in awe from that, and remembered Ash using a similar move in one of their training battles. He wondered if that guy Dusk had been teaching Korrina some flashier moves, similar to how Ash had picked up on some of the moves Serena and the others used. The thought didn't sit well with him for some reason.

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere again!" Korrina suddenly ordered, snapping Clemont's attention away from his strange thoughts. He cursed himself for getting distracted, and quickly looked towards Luxray, knowing he needed to be quick.

"Wild Charge, Luxray!" he yelled, fists clenched as he watched Lucario form the blue sphere, about to launch it forward. And he did just that, as Luxray's body was engulfed in electricity, the sparks along the battlefield from Electric Terrain seemingly attracting to him as he started to run forward.

"Ray!" Luxray roared loudly as he ran, not flinching once as the blue orb approached him. Clemont had no idea if his loyal electric type would power through, but he knew there was no turning back now. The electric lion ran forward with all his might, meeting the blue orb at the halfway point of the battlefield. There was a loud explosion as the Aura Sphere exploded against him, smoke shooting up around the centre of the battlefield. But Clemont could just see it. A yellow light emerging from the other side. "Luxray!"

"Lucario!" Korrina cried out in concern, seeing Luxray emerge from the smoke unharmed. They had no time to counterattack, though, and the Gleam Eyes Pokemon impacted powerfully with the fighting type, sending him flying backwards, sparks shooting across his body and smoke trailing off of it. Luxray winced once more from the recoil, but he still seemed willing to continue, sensing he wasn't done yet.

"Keep it up, Luxray!" Clemont shouted, feeling that the momentum had turned. "Use Thunder Fang!"

That was when he saw it. Clemont's eyes widened, almost feeling like everything was happening in slow motion. He saw Korrina's and Lucario's eyes meet, a nod exchanged between them. Their arms raised into the air as Lucario got to his feet, the stones on their armbands shining in the sunlight. "Let's do this, Lucario! Mega Evolve!"

Luxray's charge continued, his fangs crackling with electricity, but it didn't seem to matter to Lucario, the light extending from his Lucarionite, to Korrina's Key Stone. The crowd cheered wildly, clearly ecstatic to see Korrina bringing out her trump card. As the lights met, Lucario's form changed, his body growing larger. Luxray leaped forward, the transformation still incomplete, but Clemont could see the fighting type reacting, throwing his shining arms up, catching Luxray's sparking jaws. As the light faded, the transformation complete, he threw the electric lion up in the air, head held high, embracing his power boost, his now red eyes, paws and legs looking like blood in the sun, his yellow fur shining and elongated spikes more threatening.

"Bone Rush!" Korrina yelled, smiling confidently, clearly expecting victory.

"Luxray, catch it with Thunder Fang!" Clemont countered as Lucario leaped into the air, bone already held in front of him, while Luxray straightened out, jaws once more electrified, the electricity on the field rising up around him, but seemingly vanishing afterwards.

"Ru ru!" Lucario roared, swinging the bone up towards Luxray, who chomped down on it, sparks shooting out from the colliding attacks. Lucario wasted no time, though, immediately pulling up and then throwing the bone down to the ground, sending Luxray with it, crashing hard.

"And finish with Aura Sphere!" Korrina called, pumping her fist. Lucario answered immediately, the sphere growing within seconds before he hurled it down. It exploded against Luxray at full speed, and as the dust and smoke settled, Clemont was already rushing forward to his Pokemon, knowing the result.

"Luxray is unable to battle! Korrina and Lucario are the winners, earning Shalour College one point in the IPL standings!" the referee announced, the crowd cheering loudly.

Clemont didn't care, though, coming to a stop by Luxray and kneeling next to him as he slowly raised his head. "Luxray," Clemont said, placing his hand on the electric lion's side, "you okay?"

"Lux," Luxray breathed out, nodding slightly. He was clearly exhausted, but Clemont was glad he wasn't badly hurt.

"Clemont! Is Luxray all right?" He looked up, surprised to see Korrina and Lucario approaching him.

"A good rest and some time at the Pokemon Centre will make him good as new," Clemont assured her, Luxray nodding in agreement. He and Lucario, now in his regular form, exchanged a nod, clearly having earned one another's respect.

"I'm glad," Korrina breathed out, reaching out to help Clemont stand back up. He blushed at the gesture but accepted it. "That was a really great battle, Clemont," she continued, still holding onto his hand." He stared down a little awkwardly at it, but then Korrina slowly slid her hand back, leaving a little slip of paper in Clemont's hand. "Maybe we can battle again sometime and swap Gym Leader stories." With that, she turned around, heading off towards her cheering teammates, Lucario behind her.

Clemont stared blankly at her for a few seconds before glancing down at the piece of paper. His eyes widened and he quickly stuffed it in his pocket, looking at Luxray awkwardly, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon simply looking confused. "Um...good work, Luxray, take a good long rest," Clemont muttered, returning his Pokemon to its pokeball. He started walking back towards his friends, seeing Trevor getting up, Ash apparently waiting once more. As he quickly gave Trevor a high five and sat down next to Bonnie, Clemont could feel his cheeks burning, thinking of the paper in his pocket.

"Clemont?" Bonnie asked sweetly, tapping his shoulder. He looked at her, expecting her to say something sympathetic about the battle. Unfortunately, he was way off on that. "What did Korrina give you just now that you put in your pocket?"

That immediately got the attention of Serena and Shauna, who looked at Clemont with surprise and glee respectively. "Clemont...don't tell me Korrina gave you her number!" Shauna squeaked excitedly.

"Th-that's none of your business," Clemont muttered, looking at Trevor, who had just called out his Charizard, while Clayton, the Shalour battler that was up, responded with a Grumpig. "Focus on the battle. In case you didn't notice, we still don't have a point."

"It's not a big deal, big brother," Bonnie said, as they looked towards the battlefield, "you got something better than that."

* * *

Ash gritted his teeth, watching as Trevor's Charizard dove down towards the opposing Grumpig once again, already scratched up from trying to force Clayton into an up close battle. He'd tried using fire attacks from a distance to start, but Grumpig had managed to make those attacks nearly ineffective. From what Ash could see, Clayton had definitely earned his high league rankings. Trevor had done well so far with Flint, but he was relying too much on Charizard's strength alone, a mistake Ash could see was deciding the match.

"Flint, we'll need to address Trevor's Charizard's moveset. It's very unbalanced. Either fire or dragon type moves. Very predictable," Agatha muttered, sounding a little miserable, seeing yet another loss was on the way.

"I can see it's a bit of a problem, yeah," Flint agreed, exchanging an amused look with Ash. "Charizard and Trevor are smart, though. We can definitely set them up for success."

"Why isn't Trevor mega evolving?" Bonnie spoke up, leaning past Clemont, looking at Ash as though expecting him to know the answer.

Ash thought for a moment, watching with clenched fists as Charizard was struck with a Charge Beam attack while trying to get behind Grumpig. "Trevor wants to prove himself, I think. There's no doubt that Charizard is strong, with or without Mega Evolution, but Trevor's been working really hard to not rely on it so much. Isn't that right, Flint?"

"For sure," Flint said, nodding. "Trevor told me he felt he relied too much on Mega Evolution to win his gym badges for the Kalos League, particularly as he'd fallen behind Tierno. He thinks it hurt his chances once battling against that other Mega Charizard, who had a great deal more experience."

"But he's losing," Bonnie complained, pointing to Charizard as he staggered back from a Psyshock. "He should do it to win."

"It's not just about winning one battle, Bonnie," Clemont told her. "Trevor's trying to grow as a trainer, and in this case, he's making sure he learns how to fight on an even playing field."

It didn't take much longer for the match to end. Charizard managed to land a Dragon Claw and a Flamethrower towards the end, but was ultimately taken out by one more powerful Charge Beam, earning Shalour yet another point. The Lumiose team was disappointed, of course, but Ash felt they were more accepting of the two losses they'd suffered. Clemont had barely lost, barely losing despite Lucario Mega evolving, and Trevor hadn't let frustration get the better of him, determined to stick to his plan for improvement, which Ash knew would serve him better down the road.

"Hey Ketchum, looks like it's you and me," a voice from Ash's left called out. He turned his head, seeing the messy black hair of the boy named Sumato. He approached Ash, holding out his hand, smiling. "Good luck out there. I've seen some of your battles, and I'm excited to see what I can do against the Kalos League runner up."

Ash nodded, standing and shaking Sumato's hand. "Yeah, it should be a great battle. I hear you did quite well in the Hoenn League."

Sumato shrugged, turning his head as he noticed Clayton heading off the battlefield. "I guess I did all right. But today's challenge will top that. I've got a plan, and I hope you're ready for it."

Ash didn't say anything, just smiling as Sumato turned away, heading towards his side of the battlefield, pausing to congratulate his teammate. "Ready for this, Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking up at the electric mouse on his shoulder. "I have a feeling Sumato will be tough to beat."

"Pika!" Pikachu answered confidently, giving a little fist pump.

"Good luck, Ash!" Serena called out, Absol also giving a little shout of encouragement. The Disaster Pokemon may have been interested in performances, but he definitely seemed to like the battles so far as well. Ash just hoped he could deliver the win.

"Thanks," Ash called back, before turning and setting off to his place on the battlefield, nodding to Trevor as they passed one another. _I've been losing too much lately, and I'm not losing again. Not to Anton, Alain, or anyone..._

Once Ash and Sumato had taken their places, Pikachu tensed up, ready to charge out onto the field at any moment. Sumato at the other end looked just as ready, his pokeball in hand while he looked at the referee. Ash didn't really know what to expect from him, but with what Marie had said, Sumato was definitely no beginner. He may not have earned the high league rankings that Ash had, but he'd gone farther than many trainers would ever go, just like many of the IPL trainers.

Ash couldn't help but feel a little doubt as he thought of this. Was Sumato another Anton? Had Korrina surpassed him? Was Clemont stronger? Even Trevor, who would've had a much closer battle had he mega evolved Charizard. Ash didn't want to lose again, yet that possibility still seemed very real to him.

"Trainers, please select your Pokemon!" the referee called out, snapping Ash out of his thoughts. He looked up, seeing Sumato toss out a pokeball, which flashed brightly, revealing a metallic Pokemon with a saucer-shaped body, with an eye on each "arm" and one in the middle. Its arms appeared to be black magnets, while a yellow antenna poked from the top of it.

"A Magnezone, huh?" Ash looked down at Pikachu and smiled, nodding and pointing ahead. "All right, Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pika!" The electric mouse burst onto the field, excited about his first real battle since the screening matches for entering Lumiose University. Ash was excited too, but he could tell Pikachu had been waiting a while for this.

He looked towards the referee as Pikachu and Magnezone waited, both suddenly very still, not wanting to make a mistake. The referee then raised his arm, waving it down quickly and yelling, "Let the battle begin!"

"Magnezone, use Lock-On!" Sumato yelled immediately. This was likely his favourite opening move, as Magnezone seemed to act slightly before the order was given. Immediately, the antenna on its head glowed red, before a light shot out of it, hitting Pikachu before he could react. Ash flinched, expecting it to have hurt the electric mouse, but all it seemed to do was connect the two Pokemon with a light.

"Pikachu, get out of the way with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered, not liking how this was starting. Pikachu moved quickly, digging into the ground and kicking off a moment later. He started darting around Magnezone, keeping a safe distance and moving so quickly he looked like a little, yellow blur. But no matter how fast he moved, and no matter which way he moved around Magnezone, the red light continued to follow, trained on Pikachu while Magnezone hovered in the centre of the field.

"Now, use Zap Cannon!" Sumato called, narrowing his eyes and pumping his fist. Ash's jaw clenched, knowing he'd gotten off to a bad start immediately.

"Magne magnezone!" Magnezone cried in its robotic voice, the antenna now lighting up in a yellow light as electricity began building up around it, the red light still trained on Pikachu who continued to dart around, trying to shake it off.

Ash could see that avoiding Magnezone was useless, so he quickly set his mind on landing an attack. "Pikachu, get in there with Iron Tail!" he yelled, punching the air.

"Pika!" Pikachu answered, quickly sliding to a stop and then setting off towards Magnezone, the Magnet Area Pokemon's antenna sparking as electricity seemed to swirl around it.

"Launch!" Sumato yelled, as Pikachu closed the gap between the two Pokemon. Ash could see he was in trouble, and quickly called off the Iron Tail. Pikachu nodded, leaping to the side, just as Magnezone unleashed the blast from its antenna. However, as Pikachu moved, so the light that was trained on him, and the massive blast of electricity seemed to follow. It moved along the red light like it was a path, and Pikachu had no escape. It struck with full power, exploding against the electric mouse with a loud _bang,_ the crowd gasping and cheering with the successful attack. Then, as the smoke erupted out of the explosion, Pikachu's body went flying up into the air, before descending in an arc and crashing hard into the ground to Ash's right.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in concern, nearly leaving his place to run out to his partner Pokemon. How could he have let that happen? That attack was too powerful to allow Sumato to get off for an opening move. _Lock-On,_ Ash realized, cursing himself for not coming up with a way to counter it.

"Chuuu," Pikachu groaned, managing to rise to his feet, smoke still trailing off his body. Ash sighed in relief. He thought he'd lost this battle in one move.

"You okay, buddy?" Ash called, getting a nod from Pikachu as he quickly shook himself off, padding forward, glaring at Magnezone up ahead. _All right, we need a plan,_ Ash thought, narrowing his eyes as he looked ahead at Sumato and his Pokemon. "Pikachu, get in there with Quick Attack, again, and watch out for that antenna!"

"Pi!" Pikachu shouted, setting off immediately, a white light around his body as he bolted towards Magnezone.

Sumato paused a moment, looking surprised that Pikachu had managed to get up, but a moment later, he quickly called out an order. "Magnezone, use Metal Sound!"

"Mag magnezone!" Magnezone cried, its magnet arms rising as Pikachu closed in on it. The magnets then appeared to shake, before suddenly emitting the piercing sound waves. Pikachu appeared to wince, slowing down a little, but he still powered through, leaping into the air and driving his body hard into the Magnet Area Pokemon. Both Pokemon staggered back from one another, Pikachu wincing from the Metal Sound, while Magnezone staggered from the Quick Attack.

Ash narrowed his eyes, noticing the crowd going a little quieter. This was where the battle really started. "Pikachu, Iron Tail, let's go!"

"Magnezone, use Gyro Ball!"

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled, straightening his tail behind him and leaping up as it stiffened and began glowing in a white light. He sailed towards Magnezone as the electric and steel type began to rapidly spin in midair, becoming a grey blur. Pikachu spun around, just before reaching it, striking out with his tail with all the force he could muster. As the Iron Tail struck the spinning Magnet Area Pokemon, Pikachu tensed up, clearly feeling the strain of meeting with Magnezone's own powerful attack. Sparks flew out from the meeting attacks, raining down on the field below. For a moment, it didn't seem like much more was going to happen, but then, it seemed to wear on Pikachu, and his hold wavered, his attack weakening just enough for Magnezone to dart forward and drive its spinning body into the electric mouse.

"No! Pikachu!" Ash yelled, seeing his partner Pokemon suddenly get caught on the spinning Magnezone, the two looking like a grey and yellow blur as they spun in midair. Then, suddenly, Pikachu was again sent flying through the air, crashing hard into the ground in front of Ash once again.

"Magnezone is my strongest Pokemon, Ash," Sumato called out, looking ecstatic about how the battle was going so far. "I want to be the best triple battler in the world with my Magnezone, Magneton and Magnemite, and Magnezone is always able to lead us in our battles. And what I've learned from those battles is that if I can slow the battle down for Magnezone, then my other Pokemon are able to attack. Battling against Pikachu is the perfect practice for that."

Ash narrowed his eyes. He always liked a fast-paced battle, so battling against an opponent who relied on slowing the match was definitely frustrating. It had him getting completely out of sync with Pikachu. However, Sumato was revealing a little too much...

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash ordered, just as the yellow mouse got to his feet. Pikachu nodded, running forward and leaping into the air, his tail sparking as electricity began to build up near the tip of it.

"Pika pika pika pika pika pika CHUPI!" he roared, flinging the electrical sphere towards Magnezone. Sumato clearly hadn't expected such as swift counterattack, as he just stared, along with Magnezone, as the electric sphere rocketed towards the Magnet Area Pokemon, impacting hard with it and exploding once it made contact. The steel and electric type was sent spinning backwards, its metallic body smoking and sparking. It righted itself fairly quickly, but its middle eye twitched, showing it was in a little bit of discomfort.

"Now, keep it up, and get in there with Quick Attack!" Ash continued, desperately wanting to up the tempo. He could hear the crowd murmuring, some of them excited about how Sumato was battling, while others sounded nervous about Ash's quick moves.

Pikachu darted forward, zigzagging back and forth as Magnezone turned left and right, attempting to follow where he moved. Sumato seemed a little confused as well, eyes trying to track the electric mouse, before he looked towards his Magnezone, clearly having come up with a plan. As Pikachu leaped up, driving his body once more into Magnezone, causing all three of its eyes to shut as it winced and staggered back, Sumato made his next order.

"Use Metal Sound again!"

"Magne!" Magnezone called out, righting itself quickly as Pikachu landed, aiming its magnets towards the electric mouse. Immediately, sound waves began shooting outward again, striking Pikachu and making him take a few steps back, ears down, clearly struggling with the ear splitting noise. It carried back to Ash as well, and he couldn't help but wince, holding his own ears to block some of the noise.

"Now, use Lock-On!" Sumato shouted, excitedly clenching his fists and holding them up.

"Zooone!" Magnezone's robotic voice was heard again as its antenna glowed in a red light once more. It lowered its body, aiming towards Pikachu, who still seemed shaken by the Metal Sound.

"Pikachu, jump!" Ash yelled suddenly, just as the light from the antenna shot down. His voice seemed to snap Pikachu out of his daze, the electric mouse tensing up and leaping up immediately, his body just leaping over the red beam. He spun once in midair and then landed safely to the right as the beam from Magnezone's antenna connected with the ground. Ash narrowed his eyes wondering just what was going to happen as Magnezone and Sumato both looked on in slight confusion. The Magnet Area Pokemon then moved slightly, seemingly attempting to get his light away from the spot where it had missed. However, as Magnezone moved, the antenna continued to glow red, the beam of light still extending to the point where it had just missed Pikachu. Ash smiled, knowing he had an advantage now, although he was a little hesitant as he saw Sumato's eyes dart between Pikachu and the Lock-On location. He ignored that for the moment, though, instead ordering his next attack. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Sumato didn't attempt a counter, just watching on in frustration as Pikachu leaped up, his tail glowing white, and struck Magnezone hard, just near the antenna. It caused a ringing sound as the Magnet Area Pokemon staggered back, still connected to the ground by the red beam of light. As Pikachu dropped back to the ground, Ash was quick to order his next attack, not willing to let up.

"Now, Quick Attack and then Electro Ball!" he yelled, punching the air in excitement. Sumato seemed confused as to what to do now, knowing his next attack would be attracted to the ground. Pikachu wasn't hesitating at all, though, immediately breaking into a run, circling the somewhat confused looking Magnezone and then leaping into the air and driving his body into the steel and electric type.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as he struck Magnezone, spinning around as he dropped back, his tail sparking as electricity began to build up. "Pika pika pika pika pika pika CHUPI!" he roared once more, flinging his tail out before spinning and landing safely on the ground, the electrical sphere sailing up towards Magnezone and exploding on impact. The Magnet Area Pokemon seemed to sag a little, its magnet arms dropping a little, its body starting to lower.

"We're wearing it down, Pikachu!" Ash called out confidently. "Now, let's wrap this up! Iron Tail, and then Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu nodded, tensing up and then taking off once again. This time, he darted underneath Magnezone, who lazily turned around, looking for the mouse behind it, before Pikachu once again leaped up, swinging upward and striking his opponent from below. "Chuuu PIKA!" Pikachu yelled, slamming his metallic tail into Magnezone's underside, causing another loud ringing sound. Ash Pikachu spun away, electricity surging around his body, Ash felt sure his victory was imminent.

"Zap Cannon!" Sumato suddenly yelled.

"Magne zooone!" As Pikachu landed, his electricity shooting upward and striking Magnezone, the Magnet Area Pokemon's antenna glowed, its own electricity surrounding it. It winced as Pikachu's attack struck, but it didn't stop, the electricity shooting up the antenna, expanding, and then firing down through the path that Lock-On had created. Ash's eyes widened, seeing the attack speeding towards the ground. It wasn't going to hit Pikachu, but he knew what Sumato was going for.

The ground exploded, dust and smoke shooting into the air, the field shaking from the attack, causing Pikachu to stop as he staggered. "Now, use Metal Sound, one more time!" Sumato shouted, Magnezone aiming his magnets down to Pikachu, who coughed as the smoke reached him. The sound waves then rained down on him, making the electric mouse shut his eyes and take a few steps back. Ash's eyes widened, seeing just how vulnerable Pikachu was. "Lock-On!"

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash yelled. It didn't matter, though, as he was too slow with Metal Sound and the explosion having slowed his movement. The beam of light struck him, lighting him up in red for a moment.

"Pika?" Pikachu looked back at Ash, eyes wide, realizing he was trapped.

"Don't worry, we'll win this before he attacks. Electro Ball!" Ash shouted, pointing up at Magnezone.

Pikachu nodded, lowering his body and then leaping into the air, the light following him as he did so. The electrical sphere began to expand at the tip of his tail as he chanted, "Pika pika pika pika pika pika," and then he unleashed it with all his might, spinning around and shouting, "CHUPI!"

"Zap Cannon! Finish this!" Sumato yelled, watching Pikachu's attack sail towards Magnezone, looking both nervous and excited.

"Magne!" Magnezone shouted, the electricity building on the antenna once again. Its eyes seemed to narrow as the Electro Ball approached it, and it winced, staggering back as it struck, exploding against it. However, Ash could see the electricity on its antenna through the smoke, and then, a moment later, the red beam connecting the two Pokemon brightened, and a massive bolt of electricity burst forward, aiming straight for Pikachu.

Pikachu tried to run, but it was no good. He zigzagged along the ground, the light and the attack following him. As it finally reached him, he looked towards Ash with wide eyes, looking both ashamed and scared.

Then the attack exploded against him.

* * *

"Pikachu, Charizard and Luxray are all better now," Nurse Joy said, handing Clemont and Trevor their pokeballs, while Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder.

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Ash said, smiling and scratching Pikachu behind the ear as the electric mouse nuzzled his cheek.

Serena smiled, relieved to see her friends' Pokemon were all okay. Especially Pikachu, with the damage he'd appeared to take. She winced at the thought, the sight of Pikachu's still body after that final Zap Cannon, and Ash running towards him. She could still hear the cheers of the Shalour crowd, almost hating them for it, as Pikachu had clearly been hurt.

"Sol." She glanced down at her side, seeing Absol nudging her hand. It calmed her a little, and she smiled at him, glad he'd been able to come. It made the next day even more important to her. With the Battle Team suffering another three losses, more success for the Performance Team was crucial. Returning to Lumiose City with another zero-point outing would definitely not be fun.

"Ready for tomorrow, Serena?" a voice in front of her suddenly asked, and Serena looked up, seeing Ash approaching her, while Clemont and Trevor went over to sit with the rest of the group who were getting dinner.

"Yeah, I think so," Serena said, nodding. She looked at Pikachu, who was smiling, but still looked tired. "How are you, Pikachu?"

"Pi..." Pikachu said sadly, bowing his head a little, letting his disappointment show.

Ash frowned, his own disappointment apparent as well. "I thought I was going to win. I really thought I was going to get out of my streak."

"I thought you still battled really well, Ash," Serena said honestly, Absol making a noise of agreement next to her. "It was a bit of bad luck. You could've just as easily won that-"

"Of course he could've won that battle." Ash smiled, surprising Serena a little as Agatha appeared at her side. The Kanto Elite Four member was still a little intimidating to her, so Serena wasn't quite sure why Ash was so at ease around her. "You _should_ have won that battle, Ash."

Serena watched the woman in silence, curious as to what she would say. She thought Ash should have won as well, but just thought it was bad luck that ended up costing him the match. Apparently Agatha seemed a little more sure of what it was.

"That Sumato boy was very clever, forcing you to fight a slower battle, when both you and Pikachu are much better with speed. He made you fight on his terms, which good trainers are able to do. He planned that battle out specifically for you, and you let him show it." Agatha paused, looking pointedly at Ash, as though waiting for him to answer.

When he did, he nodded, apparently understanding where Agatha was going with this. "I was thinking too much about winning, and I was too scared of losing. When Pikachu had the advantage towards the end, I was too confident, but whenever Sumato slowed the battle down, I was too worried about what he would do."

"Ash, I find those fools from Team Rocket to be nothing more than incompetent thieves, but they showed you something, did they not?" Agatha asked, narrowing her eyes. "They have a goal, and they push towards it, even if it is a despicable one. They don't let defeat cloud their desire."

"Ash, you've always been like that too," Serena chimed in, causing him to look at her in surprise. "Ever since..." She trailed off, remembering that he still didn't recognize her from that day in camp. "When I saw you at the Kalos League," she started over, deciding on a different example, "every time you looked like you were backed into a corner, you never got scared, or frustrated, you just kept battling the way you wanted to. It looked like you were always fighting on your terms, no matter how the battle was going."

"Exactly," Agatha said, nodding at Serena's words. "You are not one to lose focus easily, Ash, and I understand that with the amount of time you've been a trainer, and some of the success you've had, the losses now seem even more frustrating. However, you have your style. You have what makes you Ash Ketchum. Don't lose that. Don't lose what made you who you are."

Ash took a deep breath, looking up at Pikachu on his shoulder once again. "I let Pikachu down today. I let Greninja down against Anton. I've let all of my Pokemon down lately. I've let my friends down."

"Ash stop-" Serena started to say, but Ash quickly cut her off, continuing.

"I know I can get out of this. I'm not losing again. Not because I'm scared to lose, but because I _want_ to win. I just want to battle and have fun with my Pokemon. Lumiose University is a fresh start. It's like I'm ten all over again, and that's not a bad thing. Nothing is more exciting than training and having fun with your Pokemon, and we're not letting a few losses change that."

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered, clearly liking the sound of that.

"And of course, I'll be supporting you and the Performance Team all the way, Serena," Ash said, holding up a fist and smiling. "Things start turning around tomorrow."

 **Author's Note:**

Yes, another loss...another 3 losses. But again, they had their purposes, which I know many will ignore, but for those willing to try to understand, I'll explain. Clemont's trying to become a better Gym Leader. Well, who better to test himself against than Korrina, a Gym Leader with a Mega Lucario. Not to mention, he wants respect for other reasons. As for that, I know the phone number slip was ridiculous, but hey, I need an excuse for having them see each other before the next IPL match between these two schools...so...yeah.

As for Trevor's loss, that was explained in chapter. He was skimmed over anyways, really. He'll get a big battle soon enough, though.

And Ash, yes, he and Pikachu. What level is it that some of you want him at again? 80? 90? 100? Despite me having a class in this story where I point out levels are not really a thing. Anyways, this was Ash fully coming to terms with his losses. Team Rocket opened the door to the light, and Sumato pushed him right on out. The first IPL loss had him fall into depression, while this one helps him move forward.

This IPL match is setting up something much bigger, boys and girls. Trust me. See you next time.


	29. Serena's Confession

**Author's Note:**

Longest chapter I've ever written. I would've split it into two, but...I think it just had to be a long chapter. So...let's get to it.

 **Warning:** Things are a little dark in this chapter...

 **Chapter 29: Serena's Confession**

"Bonjour tout le monde!" a loud voice blared through the theatre, causing Serena to wince just a little as she and her friends stood in the lobby, waiting for Fantina to bring her and Shauna backstage. "Please make your way to the theatre and take your seats. Your host, yours truly, will be with you in a few minutes." The announcer, apparently a friend of Fantina's named Madame Adalene, was busy informing the many students crowding into the theatre about where to go and the lineup for today's events. It was starting to give Serena a headache, as the same messages were getting repeated over and over again, and she'd been standing there for about fifteen minutes.

"You okay, Serena, you look pretty tired?" Shauna asked, peering closer at her friend while stroking her Skitty that was in her arms.

Serena shook her head, rubbing her temples a moment before looking up at a clock, wondering why Fantina couldn't just hurry up. "I'm all right," she lied, "I just want to get to the performances already. I can't wait to show Absol what they're all about."

"Sol absol," Absol growled, shuffling closer to Serena as a crowd of students passed them, heading through the doors into the theatre. He was clearly anxious for it to start as well, but Serena had a feeling it had more to do with getting away from the people stomping their feet all around him. She felt pretty bad about it, as he'd been quite excited earlier in the morning at the Pokemon Centre. Now, though, he was understandably nervous about the crowds of people. Serena could even see his bad legs shaking.

"I'll make sure Absol's safe so he can enjoy the performances," Ash promised, glancing at Absol and then looking up at Serena, obviously having seen the nervousness in the Disaster Pokemon. "We'll cheer you on together, right Absol?"

Absol didn't really acknowledge Ash's words, instead staring around nervously once more. Serena supposed the day before had been a little easier on him since he'd been kept near her at the front of the stands during the battles. Today, though, the entire crowd of people was within view and all around him. For a Pokemon that didn't have much reason to trust humans, it definitely wasn't the best place. Serena felt even worse knowing that she'd have to leave his side for her Performance. _Hopefully he can focus on that and it will make him more comfortable,_ she thought, giving him a comforting smile.

"So what's the plan for you and Shauna?" Tierno asked, after a few more minutes of waiting, while Serena did her best to keep Absol calm, Ash and Pikachu doing their best to help. The noise lessened a little bit, but much of the crowd could still be heard through the doors from inside the theatre. "Who's doing the Theme Performance and who's doing the Freestyle Performance?"

"I think I'll try the Theme Performance again," Shauna said, Serena nodding in agreement. Shauna had told her the previous night that Skitty had shown interest in some of the Theme Performances when they'd been watching some of them back in Lumiose City. Serena was perfectly happy with that, as she was excited to show Absol the Freestyle Performance.

"I bet Skitty will really enjoy that," Clemont said, stroking the little Kitten Pokemon's fur as he held it. Serena bit back a laugh, realizing it was one of the few times Shauna had allowed him to take Skitty. She'd probably been tempted to keep it with her, but Clemont had pointed out it would be easiest for Skitty to watch with the group, so they could explain things.

"Make sure nothing happens to her, okay Clemont?" Shauna warned, narrowing her eyes as a door opened down a hallway, where Serena could see Fantina stepping out, accompanied by a familiar face, that immediately made her nervous. "I don't want Skitty getting lost."

"Don't worry," Clemont muttered, shaking his head in exasperation. "Skitty's in good hands...just like when I had the egg." Serena thought she heard him muttering something else, but was quickly distracted as Fantina walked up next to Dawn and Tierno, looking quite excited about the upcoming matches.

"Bonjour!" she greeted excitedly, as the woman behind her stepped around, making her way over to Serena, who turned around to meet her as she approached.

"Hello Serena," Palermo said, nodding to the young Performer, who ignored the conversation Dawn and Tierno were having with Fantina so she could focus on Palermo.

"Hi Ms. Palermo," Serena replied a little quietly. This time, it was Absol who comforted _her_ , nuzzling her hand, before looking up at Palermo curiously. "Um...I didn't expect to see you here."

Palermo shrugged, narrowing her eyes at a group of Shalour students who stormed past, making a great deal of noise as they laughed and cheered, booing the Lumiose students as they entered the theatre. "I need to make sure I'm aware of all the up and coming performers, Serena. The IPL provides an opportunity to do so. I'm also involved in some of the judging." She seemed to notice Serena's eyes widen at that and smiled. "You didn't think you'd avoid me in your performances, did you?"

Serena laughed weakly at that, trying to be polite. "I guess I just thought you were sticking to the Showcases."

"Generally, yes, but I was around, and Gurkinn and Madame Adalene asked me to participate in today's judging." Palermo's eyes then drifted down, noticing Absol for the first time. She studied him a moment, causing him to tense up, which Serena could feel as he was quite close to her. "A new Pokemon? Will this one be performing with you today?"

"Oh...no," Serena said, smiling down at Absol, hoping to ease his tension a little. "It's a long story, but Absol was hurt by a Pokemon Hunter and he escaped about a month ago. Ash and Flint saved him, and then I've been helping him recover. He's here to learn about performances since I showed him one on TV and he seemed interested after following me to one of my training sessions."

Palermo raised her eyebrows at that, looking back at Absol, before resting her eyes on Serena once more. "This is _that_ Absol?" Serena nodded, surprised to see Palermo looking...impressed? "I was there that day. I was unaware that you were so involved. I had thought the issue had been resolved with the Hunter being caught."

Absol growled at that, clearly not enjoying the topic of the conversation going to his former captor. "Sol..." he growled again, looking up at Serena.

"Don't worry, Absol, we don't have to talk about that," Serena whispered, petting his neck fur, calming him a little. "He only just got out of the Pokemon Centre," she explained to Palermo, "so this is all a bit much for him."

"Understandable," Palermo nodded, looking at her watch. "Well, Serena, I suppose I'd better go and get myself seated with the judges. Good luck in your Performance. I hope Absol will enjoy it and learn from it. You two seem very close."

Palermo gave one last little wave, before making her way into the theatre, nodding towards Fantina as she went through the doors. Serena sighed, feeling a little more pressure now that Palermo was here. She glanced down at Absol, who looked back, his gaze showing concern for her now. "Don't worry, I'll perform as well as I can, Absol. Palermo will be tough to please, but today, I'm performing for you. Winning doesn't matter, just as long as you enjoy it."

Absol seemed pretty surprised by that, and didn't really get a chance to react as Fantina quickly called out to Serena, with Shauna behind her as she started making her way down the hall. "It iz time to go, Serena. Come along now."

Serena gave one last smile to Absol and waved to the rest of her friends, before running off after Fantina and Shauna. Once she caught up to them, she could hear the loud cheer of the audience in the theatre as Madame Adalene's voice was heard. Serena glanced up at a TV screen on one of the walls, seeing a woman in a blue dress with long blonde hair on the stage, smiling and waving at the crowd.

"Oh zat Adalene just loves ze spotlight!" Fantina laughed out, just as their group reached the doors that led backstage. Fantina opened the door, gesturing for Serena and Shauna to enter. "You two should get dressed quickly. Ze Theme Performance will start in about five minutes."

Serena and Shauna nodded, quickly heading towards the small changing rooms once backstage. Serena could see that their opponents, Desiree and Kathy were already dressed, the former in a dress with different flowers all over it, the latter simply in a pink apron over her regular outfit. Serena gave them a quick greeting, while they told Shauna that they'd just been informed the Theme Performance was a baking competition, handing her an apron.

Once Serena was in the dressing room, she pulled out her red and pink Performance dress, placing it on a counter in front of her. She paused a moment, listening to Madame Adalene getting the crowd ever more excited. She could even here the introductions of the judges, with Shalour's Nurse Joy and the returning Monsieur Contesta getting loud cheers, along with some excited murmuring for Palermo. Apparently she was reasonably well known here in Shalour, at least for those interested in the performances. It only made Serena think more about what Palermo's judgement could mean.

Another minute passed while Serena stood there, thinking. She knew Palermo thought highly of her performances, but she'd suggested Lumiose University for a reason. If she didn't see the progress she expected, would she bother with Serena anymore? What if she hadn't changed? What if she'd changed too much? Could this one Performance affect everything?

"Serena, you okay in there?" Shauna's voice called, with a quick knock on the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Serena called back, sighing and shaking her head. "Get a grip, Serena," she whispered to herself. "It's one Performance. Show Absol just how fun they are."

As Serena finally started to get changed, though, she couldn't help but think of Gabby's approach to performing, wondering once more if that was Palermo's approach. Serena had tried to think of it the same way, as nothing more than a career, but the more time she spent showing Absol videos of performances on TV and telling stories about her own, the idea of treating them so differently made her somewhat sick. There was more to it than that. If Palermo didn't see it that way...

She shook her head, knowing she needed to clear her mind before the performances began. She couldn't let Palermo make her nervous. And, she still had Shauna to support. Serena quickly finished up, stepping out of the changing room and seeing Shauna standing near the right side of the curtains of the stage with her Ivysaur, while at the other side, Kathy stood with a Tepig. Serena quickly made her way over to Shauna, hearing the crowd cheer as Madame Adalene announced the beginning of the Theme Performance, presumably showing off the cooking materials. It still confused Serena how a baking competition could be exciting for a crowd of people, but she ignored that as she approached Shauna.

"Ready for the Performance?" she asked, giving Ivysaur a small smile before looking at Shauna.

"I guess so," Shauna said, peering around the curtain, looking at the audience. "It's a little weird that Palermo is here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Serena said, nodding, biting her lip a little. "That makes things a little tougher, I suppose, but just stick to what you can do. You and Ivysaur are great at this kind of thing."

"Not as good as you," Shauna muttered, sighing as she looked back. "Your pokepuffs always get everyone so excited. Mine are okay, but definitely not as good as yours."

"That's ridiculous," Serena argued. "Shauna, just do your best. You don't need to make them perfect, you just need to make them the way you can."

"All right, ladies and gentlemen!" Madame Adalene called out, interrupting Shauna before she could say anything else to Serena. "It is time for us to meet our Performers for ze Theme Performance. From Shalour College, pleaze welcome Kathy!" The crowd roared in approval as the Shalour student stepped up on stage. Serena shifted over to see past the curtain, seeing Kathy and her Tepig standing in front of a table with ingredients which stood next to an oven. "And, Kathy's opponent from ze visiting Lumiose University, we have Shauna!" Adalene announced. There were some boos, some polite applause and some loud cheers from the Lumiose contingent near the front of the audience. Serena even noticed Korrina with her Shalour teammates on the other side of the theatre, cheering loudly for Shauna.

"Come on, Shauna..." Serena whispered, seeing her friend take her place with Ivysaur standing next to her. Her eyes went to her friends, cheering as Adalene informed the audience of the rules of the competition. Each Performer would bake a batch of pokepuffs, using only the ingredients provided and the help of their Pokemon. Serena could see Absol watching closely, sitting next to Ash in the aisle. He still looked nervous, wincing at the loud noises, but Serena could see him watching the stage with interest. He was there to learn everything he could, and Serena couldn't wait to show him what she had to offer.

As Serena watched Absol, simply interested to see how he would enjoy this part of the competition, she became somewhat lost, not really noticing the baking beginning. Her eyes drifted over to the stage when she heard Adalene compliment Shauna's Ivysaur on using Vine Whipe to stir the ingredients and Kathy's Tepig on sniffing out fresh berries.

As both sides continued to work, Serena glanced up towards the judges, seeing Palermo watching with narrowed eyes. The old Performance expert watched both trainers closely, leaning forward with interest as they each commanded their Pokemon in placing the pokepuffs in the oven. Kathy used Tepig to heat her pokepuffs a little quicker, while Shauna had Ivysaur use Sweet Scent in the oven, baking the pokepuffs in the pleasant aroma.

The crowd was fairly quiet as pokepuffs began to bake, each trainer quick to get to work on making the different toppings. Serena could see now why Kathy had used Tepig to make her pokepuffs heated quickly, as her toppings appeared to be fairly complicated, with many berries and different icings, while Shauna seemed more focused on sticking to a precise recipe.

When the pokepuffs finished baking, with Kathy's finishing earlier thanks to Tepig, each trainer set to work on decorating them with various toppings. Serena had to admit that Kathy's pokepuffs looked impressive, her toppings very carefully arranged on top, taking full advantage of the extra time she'd earned herself. She also caught a whiff of Shauna's pokepuffs, though, and smiled, knowing that using Ivysaur's Sweet Scent had made them smell perfect. It would all come down to taste and who had managed to work better with their Pokemon.

"And time is up!" Madame Adalene called, a buzzer going just before her announcement. The crowd began murmuring in excitement as the trays of pokepuffs were carried up towards the judges, who each had a Munchlax with them to help judge. Serena noticed the Munchlax in front of Nurse Joy look equally content with both pokepuffs, however, the Pokemon Nurse surprisingly leaned forward towards her microphone and declared Kathy's to be superior, both in taste and appearance, while judging the work of the Pokemon to be equal. Serena immediately clenched her fists, frustration welling up inside of her. She then looked at Monsieur Contesta, who examined the pokepuffs carefully, while the Munchlax in front of him inhaled them both instantly. This time, Shauna's were declared better, the crowd booing in response to Contesta's ruling, while Serena did a little cheer from her spot.

"Now it's Palermo," Serena then whispered to herself, heart racing as she watched the Performance expert lean forward, peering closely at the pokepuffs.

"Fine work from both Performers," she finally said, surprising Serena a little with the immediate praise. "In fact, both would likely do quite well in a Rookie Class Showcase with these." The Munchlax in front of her then ate his two pokepuffs, looking quite pleased with the snack and looking around for more. "Shauna was particularly capable in utilizing Ivysaur's connection with nature, while Kathy was exceptional in using Tepig's sense of smell and fire typing. Both are equal in terms of taste, so it comes down to who worked better with their Pokemon. I believe that while Shauna understood her Pokemon's capabilities, she wasn't able to use them in the same way as Kathy to maximize their potential. Shalour College earns the point."

Serena's shoulders sagged in disappointment as the crowd cheered, and the two Performers started leaving the stage. Two Machokes then came out on stage to clear off the baking materials, while Shauna stepped around the curtain, giving Serena a disappointed look. "I thought I was going to win that one," she admitted, not even able to make eye contact. "I'm not sure what else I could've done."

"You did great, Shauna," Serena said, noticing Desiree and Kathy high-fiving at the other end of the stage. "Tepig just gave Kathy the advantage with time, so it was harder for you and Ivysaur to make your pokepuffs the best they could be.

"I should be prepared for that kind of thing," Shauna muttered, sighing as she took off her apron and tossed it onto a table near the side of the backstage room. "I really wanted to show Skitty what I could do, too."

Serena knew what Shauna meant, and glanced back out towards the audience, seeing Absol nervously glancing around, while Ash seemed to be trying to keep him calm. Next to them, Clemont held Skitty in his arms, the Kitten Pokemon looking quite invigorated by the noise of the crowd. Almost the opposite of Absol. She seemed to be giving Clemont a hard time with all of her excitement.

"I think Skitty enjoyed it, Shauna," Serena pointed out, laughing a little as she noticed Clemont trying to keep the Kitten Pokemon from playing with his glasses. "That's a future Performance Pokemon that you've got there."

"You think so?" Shauna asked, peering over Serena's shoulder to see what she was pointing out. It seemed to make her feel better immediately, and Serena stepped back, looking towards the stage instead, Madame Adalene now standing in the centre as the last Machoke left the stage.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for us to begin ze Freestyle Performance!" she announced, the crowd excitedly cheering once again. Serena couldn't help but look over to the other side, seeing her next opponent, Desiree looking back. They exchanged a small smile, a little better sportswomanship than had been shown in Serena's last match, before both looking back towards the stage and Adalene. "Let us now meet ze lovely ladies who will be performing. For ze hometown Shalour College, we have Desiree! And for ze visiting Lumiose University, we have Serena!"

"Good luck, Serena," Shauna quickly said, as Serena made her way out onto the stage, waving to the crowd, despite many people booing her. She focused her gaze on her friends, though, seeing them all cheering as loudly as they could, which easily drowned out the sound of the boos to her, especially when she even saw Absol shouting out to her.

Madame Adalene was quick to announce the rules of the Freestyle Performance, which the Shalour crowd seemed to know already, with their team having already competed once before. As she did her quick recap, though, Serena stood, readying herself for her Performance. She'd definitely trained hard since her loss to Gabby, and her desire to show Absol the fun of performing only fired her up even more. She was ready to win this.

Once Adalene had finally explained the rules, the Performance was set to begin, and she made her way to the back of the stage. "Ze first Performer who will be taking ze stage will be...Serena, for Lumiose University!" The crowd gave some polite applause, a few of them booing again, while Serena stepped forward, taking her place at the centre of the stage, Desiree making her way back to stand near Adalene.

Serena took a deep breath, pulling out two pokeballs as she looked out towards the crowd. Her eyes wandered upwards, seeing Palermo staring back. She'd already ruled against Lumiose University once, so Serena knew that Palermo wasn't going to be easy to please, but in that moment, she glanced again towards Absol, who looked ecstatic to see her taking the stage, Ash still cheering next to him. This Performance was for Absol, and all her friends. It wasn't to please Palermo, it wasn't to show she could compete with Gabby, it was to make her friends happy.

"Braixen, Pancham, come on out!" Serena finally called, throwing her pokeballs up into the air, the lights flashing and revealing her two Pokemon. They each flipped through the air, landing softly on the stage in front of Serena, bowing to the crowd, already causing some of the stubborn hometown crowd to cheer.

"Let ze Performance begin!" Madame Adalene called, and with one last glance towards Absol, Serena started.

"Braixen, flip to the left, and use Flamethrower! Pancham, to the right and use Dark Pulse!" Serena yelled, quickly sliding back herself to give her Pokemon room.

"Braixen brai!" Braixen quickly called, doing a flip and a cartwheel to the left, before pulling out her branch-wand and sending flames up at a diagonal angle, which immediately met the Dark Pulse that Pancham had fired. The two attacks connected, battering against one another, creating a sphere above the stage that flickered between purple, red, black and yellow as the flames mixed with the dark, swirling energy from Dark Pulse. It was like some kind of warped disco ball, casting the whole stage in shadows and bright light as it flickered.

"Now, back to the middle of the stage!" Serena called, running forward just as her Pokemon answered, keeping their attacks going as the ran to meet her. They met at centre stage in the same moment, Braixen reaching out and grabbing Serena's hand while still holding up her branch-wand with her other arm. Meanwhile, Pancham leaped up, Serena catching him in her right arm. The three of them then began to spin, the flames and dark energy swirling together above them, looking like a tornado as they spun around. Pancham then jumped out of Serena's arm, just as she let Braixen go, while Serena herself flipped back, her two Pokemon releasing their attacks as purple, yellow and orange sparks shot out from the ball of energy shining over top of the stage. "Pancham, use Stone Edge, and Braixen, Hidden Power!" Serena shouted, pointing straight up to the spinning, black and orange "disco ball".

"Cham!" Pancham answered, flipping back and somersaulting over Braixen's head, slamming his fist hard into the ground. Serena tensed up, seeing Braixen prepare for her lift. She jumped, just as the light blue stone erupted from the ground beneath her. She landed on the stone in front as it rose up just as she began to land. The Fox Pokemon hopped from stone to stone, quickly reaching the furthest one at the edge of the stage, before forming the silvery orb in her arms and firing it upwards, where it exploded against the sparking ball of energy that had begun to fall.

"BraiiiXEN!" Braixen yelled, flipping back along the stones just as Pancham jumped up to meet her at the back one. Meanwhile, the colliding spheres of energy at the front of the stage seemed to join one another, becoming one bright light before exploding in silver, purple, red, yellow and orange dust. The stones all then began to descend, Braixen leaning down and helping raise Serena off the ground as she jumped up to the one in front of her two Pokemon. The three of them then bowed, just as the stones dissolved, leaving them at centre stage.

"C'est magnifique!" Madame Adalene shouted, clapping from her spot backstage. The audience seemed to hesitate a moment, but led by Korrina at the front of the crowd, the whole theatre erupted in cheers, unable to show any displeasure for Serena's Performance. Her eyes quickly went to her friends, seeing them on their feet, cheering louder than anyone, while Absol had even risen up, eyes shining as he looked back at her.

Serena quickly thanked her two Pokemon as they all made their way back to stand next to Adalene, while Desiree stepped forward to the middle of the stage. It wasn't over yet, Serena knew, as they still needed to compete in the simultaneous performances. Not to mention, Desiree could still pull out an even more impressive Performance.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for Desiree!" Adalene shouted, just as the Shalour Performer called out a Medicham and a Roserade, the latter fitting her flowery dress perfectly. Serena glanced one last time to her friends before Desiree began, excited to get out there one more time with how excited they seemed to be. She blinked in surprise, though, noticing Absol wincing as he sat back down, glancing up at the stage a little nervously, specifically looking at...

"Medicham, start things off with Meditate!" Desiree called, the fighting and psychic type immediately glowing in a blue aura and floating up above its trainer, manoeuvring itself into a meditating position. "Roserade, use Magical Leaf!"

Serena had a hard time focusing on the Performance, seeing the somewhat panicked look in Absol's eyes. He'd looked so excited earlier, so she couldn't tell why he would be so uneasy at the sight of Desiree's Performance. As Medicham began using Psychic to control the movement of Roserade's Magical Leaf, the glowing, swirling leaves creating a perfect stage for Desiree and Roserade's dance routine, Serena watched Absol carefully, seeing him relax just a little as the Performance continued, whatever nervous thoughts that had been in his head, seemingly disappearing.

As Desiree's routine ended, with Roserade using a Sunny Day and Synthesis combination, glowing alongside the floating Medicham, Serena locked eyes with Absol, giving him an encouraging smile, hoping he'd enjoy the final stage of her routine.

The crowd cheered as Desiree and her Pokemon moved towards the left side of the stage, and Serena and hers stepped up towards the right side of the stage. "And now, tout le monde, it is time for ze simultaneous Performance. Serena and Desiree will compete for ze judges' and audience's attention. When ze Performance concludes, we will zen decide on ze winner!"

Serena again looked up towards Palermo, who was leaning forward with interest, before her gaze drifted once more to Absol. The Disaster Pokemon was still eyeing Desiree's Medicham nervously, clearly uncomfortable with it for some reason. Serena had no idea what it could be, and could see Ash had noticed as well, the raven-haired trainer leaning over and trying to calm Absol down, Pikachu hopping down and also trying to help. Serena just had to hope her Performance would help him calm down.

And at that moment, it began, with a buzzer going and Madame Adalene calling for the performances to begin. Serena hesitated for just a moment, Desiree getting the early start, with Medicham and Roserade using a Magical Leaf and Psychic combination once more, Roserade also lighting up the stage with Sunny Day to make their combination more visible. Serena quickly shook her head, setting to work herself.

"Pancham, jump forward and use Stone Edge!" she yelled, pointing ahead, while Braixen reached out and held her hand, knowing this part of the routine well. The two jumped backwards as Pancham leaped forward, slamming his little fist into the ground, the light blue stones shooting up in a line in front of him. Serena and Braixen then began running forward, Serena calling for a Flamethrower as they began to run, separating just as they reached the stones, one going either side. Braixen's flames licked the side of the stone as she ran in a circle around the first one, Serena keeping an equal distance from her as she also ran around. The Fox Pokemon then tossed her branch-wand over to top, Serena catching it perfectly on the other side, completing the ring of fire as they ran around.

Serena tossed the branch back to Braixen as they began circling the next stone, Pancham bracing himself behind them as he prepared his next attack, ready for whenever Serena called on him. She and Braixen continued their little dance, dashing around Pancham's Stone Edge line, creating a ring of fire around each one. As they reached the front of the stage, Serena cast a quick glance over to Desiree, seeing her having Medicham use Fire Punch on the leaves from Magical Leaf, creating green dust around it.

Serena glanced back towards Pancham, seeing him ready to unleash his attack, and she nodded, smiling and jumping to the left as Braixen jumped to the right. "Dark Pulse!" she yelled, the Playful Pokemon answering immediately.

"Cham!" Pancham's swirling blast of purple and black energy erupted forth and exploded against the flaming blue stones. Blue dust with fiery sparks shot up along the stage in a straight line, Serena and Braixen immediately meeting in the centre and dancing through it, Pancham running up and landing on the outstretched arms, before they tossed him up with all their might, looking up to see him somersault through the air, lit up in the light from Desiree's Sunny Day, the blue dust shining around him.

Serena couldn't help but look quickly towards Palermo, stunned to see the older woman smiling as she watched. In fact, all the judges eyes were on her. She was _winning_! As Pancham landed in her arms once again and Serena and Braixen prepared to throw him up once more with Braixen, she glanced towards Desiree, wondering just how far ahead she might be, seeing the Shalour Performer stepping back and ordering Medicham to use High Jump Kick on Roserade's Solar Beam. It was just bracing itself to jump up when-

"Sol!" Serena froze, time almost still as she watched the pink, crescent shaped attack sail through the air, striking Medicham in the chest, sending the Meditate Pokemon flying backwards and into a stunned Desiree.

"Absol, stop!" Her gaze snapped to where her friends were sitting, immediately letting go of Braixen. Serena could see Ash jumping out of his seat, Pikachu hopping onto his shoulder, running up the steps towards the back of the theatre. An explosion near the back sent the doors bursting open, and Serena saw a white shape slipping through the opening, sending another pink, crescent shaped attack back towards the approaching Ash, who was struck and sent tumbling down the stairs. It didn't stop him, though, and the raven-haired trainer was on his feet immediately, running right back up.

Serena knew what she had to do. She quickly pulled out her two pokeballs, recalling both Braixen and Pancham inside, before running up to the edge of the stage, hearing Madame Adalene calling out to her, warning her that she would forfeit if she left. "I don't care!" Serena called back, dropping down off the stage and setting off up the stairs, feeling slow as she tried to run with her dress. She could hear footsteps behind her, and knew her friends were following, but ignored it as she reached the top. She glanced over to see Palermo looking towards her, her expression unreadable, and then exited the theatre and entered the lobby.

"Ow..." Serena's eyes widened, seeing Ash up ahead, lying on his back, Pikachu next to him, looking at him in concern.

"Ash!" Serena ran up to him, kneeling down and helping him sit up. He held his chest, wincing and looking towards the doors that led outside.

"I'm sorry, Serena," he said, avoiding eye contact with her. "I don't know what happened. Absol suddenly got all freaked out, and he just attacked and started running. I thought I could catch up to him, but he used Psycho Cut on me. This is all my fault."

"No, no it isn't," Serena assured him, helping him get to his feet. "It was...I don't know, it doesn't matter. We just have to find him. Who knows how long he can handle running with his legs the way they are?"

"We'll help, Serena." She whipped around, seeing their friends having emerged from the theatre, Korrina also there, standing next to Clemont. She was the one who'd spoken. "I know Shalour City better than anyone here, so I can cover more ground than anyone."

"My big brother and I can go with you!" Bonnie said, grabbing onto Clemont's and Korrina's hands, clearly not allowing any debate on the matter.

"I can check around the theatre and see if he's hidden anywhere close by," Trevor suggested, Marie and Shauna offering to go with him.

"Okay, Ash and I will check along the beach and near the forest," Serena said, looking towards Dawn and Tierno. "You two stay here. You still have battles to win."

"What? No, Serena, that's not important right now," Dawn argued, hitting Tierno on the arm, encouraging him to say so as well.

"We'll be fine with all of us searching. I don't want to lose us anymore points. You two represent Lumiose University while we search. We might even find Absol before you're done."

Tierno sighed, while Dawn folded her arms, neither of them liking the sound of that, but Serena gave them a look that said there was no arguing, and eventually the two of them nodded. "Fine," Dawn muttered, taking a deep breath. "Just...make sure you find him."

With that, the searching party made their way towards the doors, exiting the lobby and stepping outside. Korrina, Clemont and Bonnie immediately started running down a path to the left, while Trevor, Shauna and Marie started heading off into the bushes around the theatre. Serena took a deep breath, looking ahead towards the beach, while Ash placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him, Serena. Don't worry."

* * *

"So where should we start, Korrina?" Clemont asked, as their group ran along the path leading towards the city. The running part wasn't easy, but the Lumiose Gym Leader wasn't letting his bad stamina get in the way of helping in the search for Absol.

"I doubt Absol would go into the middle of the city if he's freaked out, so we should focus our search on outer edge. We could also check out the Pokemon Centre just in case he was hurt and someone took him there." She glanced back towards the theatre, which was already out of sight. "Hopefully that's not what happened, though."

"I wonder why he was so freaked out," Clemont said, as they continued running, keeping their eyes wide open for any sight of Absol. "He seemed to be enjoying the Performance. Then he just suddenly attacked that Medicham and ran for it."

"Ash and Serena rescued him from a Pokemon Hunter, right?" Korrina asked, a thoughtful look on her face as they slowed down, reaching a row of houses. Clemont nodded, trying to catch his breath as they paused, looking around to see if there was any sign of the Disaster Pokemon. "It's possible that something was reminding him of when he was caught. He won't just be physically damaged from that experience."

"Poor Absol," Bonnie said sadly, looking down nervously at Dedenne, resting in her bag. "Do you think we'll find him before anything else bad happens to him?"

Korrina looked at Bonnie in surprise, almost as though she'd forgotten Clemont's sister was also there. She then smiled, leaning down and placing a comforting hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "You don't think Clemont's going to let anything bad happen, do you, Bonnie?"

Bonnie looked overjoyed at that statement, and if the circumstances were different, Clemont was sure his little sister would have proposed to Korrina right then and there. Fortunately, she didn't, although it didn't stop Clemont's cheeks from heating up as Korrina looked back and winked at him. "No, Clemont will beat any old Pokemon Hunter that tries to hurt any of our Pokemon," Bonnie said confidently. "He is the Lumiose Gym Leader after all."

"Right, so let's keep looking, and we'll find Absol in no time. And if anyone gets in our way, Clemont will take care of it," Korrina said, standing back up and pulling out a pokeball. "And maybe Lucario can help us out as well," she added, tossing up the pokeball and releasing the Aura Pokemon in front of her.

Clemont decided that was a good idea, and quickly threw up two of his own pokeballs, the lights flashing before revealing Bunnelby and Turtwig. "All right, Bunnelby and Turtwig, I need your help, okay?" Clemont asked his two Pokemon, who quickly looked towards him. He was relieved to see Turtwig look a little more serious, supposing it was the tone of Clemont's voice that had him fully attentive. "We're looking for Serena's Absol." He didn't know why he referred to Absol that way, but decided it didn't matter, looking along the row of houses as he continued. "We're not sure where he might've gone, but it's possible he hid somewhere around the edge of the city. Bunnelby, you check around the middle area of houses, and Turtwig, you check the houses near the beach."

"Twig!"

"Bunnel!"

His two Pokemon quickly set off, Korrina's Lucario also running off, Korrina telling him to check near the Pokemon Centre. Bonnie even had Dedenne sniffing around some of the bushes nearby, hoping to pick up some kind of sent.

"Maybe we should see if anyone around here has seen anything," Korrina suggested, noticing a couple of people walking a Furfrou on a sidewalk up ahead. She quickly made her way over to them, while Bonnie called Clemont over to help her search some of the bushes with Dedenne.

"So Clemont, Korrina seems like a real keeper, don't you think?" Bonnie asked, eyes lighting up in joy as she looked at her brother.

"This isn't the time, Bonnie," Clemont muttered, shaking his head in exasperation, looking over in surprise as Dedenne's cheeks sparked. Bonnie brought his attention back to her, though, tugging on his arm.

"But Clemont, she chose to help us and look for Absol with _you_. Don't you know think that means something?" Bonnie giggled as Clemont's cheeks began heating up again and he looked away, pretending to be very focused on the bushes in front of him. He started rummaging around them, not really paying attention.

"Bonnie, can you just...ah!" His eyes widened suddenly as pain shot through his hand and he leaped back, almost knocking over a surprised Korrina who had just made her way back. "Ouch! What was that?" It had felt like an electric shock, and his eyes immediately went to Dedenne, who was once again standing silently, cheeks sparking, the sparks seemingly attracted to the bush that Clemont had been searching in.

"Bee bee!" came an angry sound from the bushes, a yellow arm poking out from the top. Suddenly, the bushes started rustling and Bonnie jumped back in surprise, running to stand with Clemont and Korrina as a yellow Pokemon with black stripes emerged, its head sparking at the top where what appeared to be some kind of plug-like horns poking out.

"It's an Elekid," Korrina pointed out, taking a step forward to look at the electric type more closely. "I've never seen one from around here before. I wonder what it's doing here." She took another step closer, which seemed to surprise Elekid, who quickly held up an arm, the end of it sparking as it looked at her threateningly.

"Bee bee!" Elekid growled, narrowing its eyes.

"Hey, I'm not going to do- AHHHH!" Clemont quickly ran forward as Elekid's horns began sparking and unleashed a bolt of electricity forward. He reached Korrina, but not in time to pull her out of the way. Rather, he was unfortunate enough to get shocked by the bolt as well, the two of them collapsing on the ground as Elekid started laughing at them.

"Clemont! Korrina!" Bonnie yelled, running up to the two of them to make sure they were all right. "Are you too...pft...are you two...pft...are you..." Clemont glared at his sister as she began laughing, and immediately reached for the top of his head, realizing that his hair was all puffed out, and he knew he probably looked ridiculous. He heard Korrina laughing as well, though, glancing to his left and seeing her own hair wildly out of place. He couldn't help but join in, glad for that brief moment of peace in the chaos that was their search for Absol.

"Are you okay?" Clemont finally asked Korrina, fixing his glasses that had slid down his nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, reaching over and wiping some dust off of Clemont's back. "We're all messy, though."

"As long as-"

"Bee! Bebebe!" Clemont immediately shut his mouth, turning his head slowly to see the Elekid still standing there.

"Um..." Korrina said quietly, "what should we do?"

"I have an idea," Bonnie said, pointing. Clemont looked at his sister in confusion, following her gaze to where Dedenne was standing, looking thoughtfully at Elekid. "Dedenne can use his antennae to communicate with electric types, right? Maybe he can ask Elekid if he's seen Absol?" Clemont sometimes felt he didn't appreciate how smart Bonnie could be at times, but this was definitely not one of those times. He smiled immediately, looking over at the two electric types as they looked at one another. He nodded at Bonnie, and she quickly explained what she wanted from Dedenne. "Dedenne, can you ask Elekid if he's seen Absol anywhere, and where we might be able to find him?"

"Nene!" Dedenne nodded, quickly sending out little sparks from his cheeks towards Elekid, which went up to its horns. After a moment of hesitation, Elekid seemed to respond, sending out some sparks to Dedenne. Before long, a steady stream of electricity seemed to be connecting the two, and Clemont was surprised to see Dedenne's eyes lighting up. "De nenene!" Dedenne cheered, when the connection finally ended.

"Bee bee," Elekid added, looking towards Clemont, rubbing the back of its head, looking a little embarrassed. "Bebebe."

"Don't worry about it, Elekid," Clemont said, standing up, helping up Korrina as he did so. "If you can help us find Absol, I think that more than makes up for it.

"Nene!" Dedenne nodded, hopping up onto Elekid's head, sitting between its horns.

"Yay! Good job, Dedenne!" Bonnie cheered, looking excitedly at the two electric types, doing a mini high five.

"So Elekid knows where to start looking?" Korrina asked, turning around and noticing Lucario on his way, the Aura Pokemon looking like he'd heard the yells, only slowing from his run when he noticed everything was okay. Clemont could see his own Pokemon coming as well.

"Yeah," Bonnie said confidently, while Dedenne and Elekid nodded. "Now we just need to go find him, and make sure he's okay."

* * *

Trevor, Shauna and Marie had been searching in the bushes and forest nearby the theatre for about half an hour, having seen no sign of Absol. It was a little frustrating, having no idea where he could be, and searching somewhere he may never have gone through, but none of them complained. Each of them knew what Absol had been through, what Serena had done for him so far, and how important it was to find him.

"Do you think we should check deeper in the forest?" Marie finally suggested. "At this point, I think Absol will likely have tried to get further away from the theatre with what was freaking him out. He'd have more places to hide in there."

Trevor nodded, thinking that made sense. He decided they probably needed some eyes in the sky as well, and pulled out two pokeballs. "Charizard, Aerodactyl, I need your help," he shouted, tossing them up. When the lights flashed, revealing his two intimidating fliers, he looked at them seriously. "All right, guys, I need you to see if you can find any sign of Absol around here. We've been looking close to the theatre, but he might've gone deeper into the forest. Our group is going to look on the ground, but I need you two to see if you can spot anything from above, okay?" They both roared in answer, before kicking off and flying into the air, causing Shauna and Marie to stumble a bit from the wind generated from their wings.

Trevor watched them fly up for a moment, and then turned his gaze to the two girls with him. The three then quickly set off into the forest, keeping their eyes wide open for any sign of Absol, or anything else that could possibly lead them to him. A few times, they would see what looked like white fur, but it just turned out to be another Pokemon, including a Pachirisu who wasn't nearly as friendly as Dawn's.

At one point, Trevor suggested that the three of them split up to cover more ground, knowing that if they kept searching as one big group, they likely wouldn't have as much success. Shauna split off to the left, while Marie went to the right, calling out Ivysaur and Jigglypuff respectively. Trevor decided he should have a Pokemon close as well and called out Mudkip to search with him. If he needed to battle anything, Charizard would likely make it there in time, and he still had Florges just in case.

"Hey Mudkip, think you can help me look around for Absol?" Trevor asked, kneeling down to look the water type in the eyes. "He's gone missing, and we're helping Serena look for him."

"Mudkip mud!" Mudkip replied confidently, standing up on his back two legs and holding his chest proudly.

"Great," Trevor said, smiling as he stood up. He decided they should keep going straight with Shauna and Marie having gone to the sides, so he pointed ahead, Mudkip quickly turning around and taking the lead.

Trevor had wanted to spend a little more time with the Mud Fish Pokemon, particularly since they'd nearly lost in their practice battle against Clembot. He still felt he didn't know too much about Mudkip, despite having done some training with him. He'd been particularly focused on Charizard lately, and knew he needed to make sure his other Pokemon were improving as well.

As they walked through the forest, Trevor watched Mudkip, surprised to see him look like he knew where he was going. It was doubtful that he knew where Absol was, as the two hadn't really spent much time together as of yet, but it still appeared like the Mud Fish Pokemon had a specific destination in mind.

For a few more minutes, they walked in silence, Mudkip pausing once in a while as the fin on its head seemed to twitch, before it would continue. That's when Trevor remembered what his PokeDex had said about Mudkip. _It can sense its surroundings with its fin. Does that mean he's found something?_

"Mudkip!" Mudkip suddenly cried out, running forward and past some bushes. Trevor quickly followed, wanting to make sure that it wasn't two Pokemon that went missing today. He heard a startled cry from Mudkip on the other side of the bushes, and quickly made his way through, reaching for Florges' pokeball just in case something was happening. However, when he made his way out into the clearing on the other side, his hand froze, seeing what was in front of him.

"What...is...this...?" Mudkip quickly ran back to him, hiding behind his leg, terrified by the sight before them. Trevor took a deep breath, looking around to see if anyone was in sight. He looked up in the sky, deciding he needed his two fliers immediately. "Charizard! Aerodactyl!"

He didn't need to wait very long, as only a minute later, he saw the two Pokemon descending towards him. Charizard landed first, looking upon the scene in front of him in horror, Aerodactyl reacting similarly as he landed a moment later. They quickly looked to Trevor, who had his camera out, taking a few pictures, knowing he needed to show Officer Jenny what he'd found.

"I need you two to get Shauna and Marie," Trevor told his two Pokemon. "Get them here as quickly as possible. I don't know if this has anything to do with Absol, but we need to make sure. We'll need to find Officer Jenny as soon as possible."

Charizard and Aerodactyl were quick to get back into the air. Trevor didn't know if they just wanted to get out of this clearing, or if they were just in a rush to get his friends. He didn't really care, as long as they found Shauna and Marie quickly.

He took a deep breath, turning back to the scene that had his heart pumping. Cages were everywhere, all of them empty, although it looked like they hadn't been empty long. Trevor was sure that someone had been here, holding Pokemon against their will not long ago. He wasn't sure if they had fled at the sound of the students from the IPL matches, or if they'd simply decided to change location, but it still made Trevor uneasy.

The sight the terrified him even more, though, was the sight of blood.

* * *

 _BZZZ!_

"And zer we have it! No more points, and Melissa and her Swellow have defeated Tierno and his Hitmontop! A very impressive display from ze lovely Melissa." Dawn groaned, stepping away from her spot backstage and glaring at the ground. Tierno had been completely off his game in that battle, as though forgetting everything she'd taught him. He'd even forgotten his own dancing, just ordering attack after attack.

"Ah, not to worry, Dawn," Fantina said, walking over to stand in front of the blue-haired Coordinator. "Is that not what you say?"

"Um...no need to worry," Dawn corrected, looking up as Tierno slipped past the curtain, looking miserable. "Although, with the way things are going today, it's kind of hard not to worry."

"Your friends will find Absol," Fantina told her confidently, smiling at Tierno as he stopped in front of them.

"I couldn't think straight," Tierno admitted, staring at the pokeball in his hand. "Hitmontop gave it his all, but I let him down. I couldn't stop thinking about everyone else out there, searching for Absol while we're in here."

Dawn nodded, casting a glance over towards Dusk who looked back, clearly a little more ready to start their battle than she was. "I really don't think I can battle right now," she admitted, fidgeting with her pink Contest dress. "I'd much rather be out there helping my friends."

Fantina didn't say anything, the smile leaving her face as she listened to Madame Adalene getting the crowd ready for the concluding battle. "Dawn, you are ze Captain of our Performance Team. You must do what you feel is ze right thing. If winning is not ze most important, zat is up to you."

"It's just a five minute battle, Dawn," Tierno pointed out. "We'll go as soon as it's done."

Dawn sighed, nodding and pulling out two pokeballs. She glanced once more over towards her next opponent, seeing Dusk nod back to her. She knew he was excited about their matchup, considering what he'd mentioned the day before, so she supposed she couldn't let an eager opponent down. "All right, but we're going right away. I don't want to let our friends down."

With that, Dawn took a deep breath and made her way over to the edge of the stage, impatiently tapping her foot as Madame Adalene explained the rules of the double battle. Then, finally, the Shalour announcer called her to the stage. "Representing the Lumiose Performance Team, we have their Captain, Dawn!" The blue-haired Coordinator quickly made her way onto the stage, not even bothering to wave to the crowd, so lost in her thoughts, getting some extra boos because of it. Adalene then raised her arm to the other side of the stage, the crowd already roaring before she began announcing. "And Shalour's Performance Team Captain, please welcome Dusk!"

Dawn couldn't help but glare at Dusk as he made his way to his spot on stage. He glanced back, looking a little surprised by her menacing look, and attempted smiling back. That made her feel a little guilty and she just decided to glare at the still clock on the screen to her left. She never wanted to rush her Contest battles, but this was definitely a unique occasion.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, we are ready to begin ze final match!" Madame Adalene called, the crowd cheering as the lights focused on the trainers on stage, and the battlefield between them. Adalene quickly stepped back, making sure she wouldn't be in the way. "Trainers, please select your Pokemon!"

"Gengar, Drifblim, you're up!" Dusk called, tossing his two pokeballs into the air. Dawn's eyes widened, seeing the two ghost types emerge in a purple cloud, impressed with the choice of seals for the ball capsules. She wasn't the only one impressed, though, as she heard Fantina gushing over the ghost types from backstage.

Dawn took a deep breath and then tossed her own pokeballs into the air. "Piplup, Togekiss, spoootLIGHT!" Pink hearts erupted out of the ball capsules as the two Pokemon emerged, Piplup landing on Togekiss' back and jumping off as she flipped through the air, the Penguin Pokemon landing softly below his ally, who hovered in midair, eyeing her opponents carefully.

"Ah, zis should be a very good battle!" Adalene shouted, the crowd cheering in agreement. "Without further ado, let us begin!"

 _Ding!_ the bell rang, indicating it was time for the battle to start.

"Piplup, slide forward and use Bubble Beam with Counter Shield! Togekiss, hang back and wait for my order!" Dawn wasn't going to waste any time. Unlike Tierno, she knew blindly attacking her opponent for a quick victory was pointless, so she'd do this the right way.

"Gengar, use Shadow Ball, and Drifblim, use Ominous Wind!" Dusk was quick to respond, thrusting his arm out as he made the order.

Piplup was on the move first, quickly reaching centre stage and spinning on his back, unleashing the icy beam of energy a moment later, which spun around, appearing like an icy tornado erupting from his beak. Meanwhile, the opposing ghost types were nearly as quick, Drifblim floating above Gengar while that latter formed a dark, purple sphere in his hands. A moment later, Gengar fired the Shadow Ball upwards, just as Drifblim raised its ribbon-like arms and released a purple, smokey wind that propelled forward. The Shadow Ball exploded against it, giving the appearance of black and purple electricity crackling through the dark wind as it crashed along the field, striking Piplup and destroying his icy tornado and sending him flying back into Togekiss.

"And Dusk is ze first to land a successful attack, dropping Dawn's points significantly," Adalene announced, the crowd cheering as Dawn's points dropped by about a quarter. Dusk's points dropped a bit from Piplup's early show, but it was barely even noticeable.

"All right, Piplup, try again, and this time, Togekiss, let an Aura Sphere go quickly!" Dawn ordered, scolding herself for allowing Dusk to get the lead so early.

"Piplup!" Piplup answered, quickly rushing forward and spinning on his back once again, sending the icy energy upward once more.

"Aura Sphere won't work on ghost types," Dusk warned, narrowing his eyes as he watched Piplup. "Gengar, get ready with another Shadow Ball. Drifblim, use Hypnosis on Piplup!"

Dawn clenched her fists, watching Togekiss as she formed the large blue sphere, flying into the air and then spinning as she descended. A moment later, she unleashed the Aura Sphere, sending it straight ahead, spinning right through Piplup's Ice Beam Counter Shield, where it seemed to get caught, spinning and freezing within it. "Now, Piplup, get up and send it right at them!"

"Gengar, release Shadow Ball!" Dusk shouted back.

"Luuup!" Piplup shouted, jumping up immediately and sending the spinning, icy Aura Sphere forward. Just as Drifblim began to glow in an eerie purple aura, the icy Aura Sphere struck it in the side, before Piplup seemed to carry the beam towards Gengar, who's Shadow Ball was sent sailing towards the Penguin Pokemon. Drifblim crashed against its ghost and poison type ally, just as Shadow Ball struck Piplup, sending him flying backwards, Togekiss shooting down to catch him.

"C'est magnifique! Dawn uses a beautiful combination of Ice Beam and Aura Sphere to make a fighting type move knock down her ghost type opponents, while Togekiss swoops in to rescue Piplup!" The crowd didn't exactly find that exciting, a few of them booing once more.

Dawn cast a quick glance up towards the clock, seeing that only fifty seconds had gone by, and she still hadn't caught up to Dusk, her points dipping slightly below three quarters, while he still had about eighty percent. Her fists clenched as she looked up towards the doors exiting the theatre. She needed to hurry this up. Her friends were counting on her.

"All right, Piplup, stay on Togekiss' back and get ready with Bubble Beam! Togekiss, spin and dive!" Dawn ordered, point ahead towards the ghost types at the other end of the stage, both of them righting themselves from her previous attack.

"Gengar, use Double Team! Drifblim, Phantom Force!" Dusk ordered, Gengar immediately multiplying across the stage, while Drifblim disappeared entirely.

Dawn's eyes darted around, looking for any sign of either one of them. She had to admit, Dusk really knew what he was doing. As Togekiss and Piplup descended, the bubbles creating a circle around them as they spun, they were clearly lost, looking for where to strike. A few bubbles struck some Gengar copies, but nothing happened as the copies simply evaporated. Then, suddenly, a dark shape appeared behind Dawn's two Pokemon, and she called out to them in panic, knowing it was too late.

"Toge!"

"Pip!"

Her Pokemon screeched in pain as Drifblim drove into Togekiss, sending her crashing to the ground, Piplup falling with her. The two crashed hard into the stage, just as Gengar's copies disappeared, the real one appearing in front of them.

"Gengar, Dark Pulse! Drifblim, Hypnosis!"

Dawn winced, watching as Piplup and Togekiss looked up at Gengar, who smiled menacingly at them, the dark energy swirling between his hands. "Gengar!" the ghost type yelled, unleashing the attack on the two helpless Pokemon who were sent flying into the air, straight for Drifblim, the eerie purple aura around it. Dawn then noticed the same aura surround her own Pokemon, just as they came face to face with Drifblim. A moment later, they dropped, their eyes closed, the Hypnosis putting them to sleep.

"Now, Gengar use Dream Eater!" Dusk ordered, punching the air gleefully, knowing he had a serious advantage.

As Gengar struck her Pokemon with a pink ray of energy, Dawn could see them wincing in their sleep, struggling to hang on from their energy being sapped. She glanced up at the scoreboard, seeing the time down to three and a half minutes, her score dropping to roughly two thirds of her counter. She had to wake up Piplup and Togekiss quickly, otherwise, she'd lose.

"Drifblim, Ominous Wind!" Dusk continued the assault, not willing to let up one bit. Dawn wondered if he was trying to prove something to her, thinking of the previous day when he'd mentioned he was a fan. That didn't exactly make her feel better, though, watching as Gengar continued to sap her Pokemon's energy, while a dark purple wind struck them from above.

"Piplup! Togekiss! Wake up!" she yelled, gritting her teeth as she noticed her counter decrease further.

There was no response, and a moment later, Gengar ended his Dream Eater attack, stepping back and looking fully refreshed, looking towards Dawn with his creepy smile. She decided right then and there that Gengar was absolutely the creepiest Pokemon she'd ever seen. She definitely did not want to be beaten by it while she was already worrying about her friends.

It would have to be one at a time. "Piplup! Wake up, Piplup! Whatever you're dreaming about, forget about it now! This is a Contest Battle!" She waited a moment, wincing as her Pokemon were struck with the Shadow Ball and Ominous Wind combination once more, sending them both tumbling towards her as Gengar and Drifblim hovered in front of Dusk.

"Pip...piplup," Piplup groaned, and Dawn could just see his eyes open. He looked over to Dawn, who sighed in relief, taking another look at the scoreboard, seeing her points below half, the timer at under three minutes.

"We can still do this, Piplup, just be careful," she warned, watching her opponents carefully. Piplup made a noise of agreement, still looking a little confused, but knowing he was in the middle of a battle. "Use Whirlpool, and grab onto Togekiss!"

"Pip!" he answered, jumping up and positioning himself in front of Togekiss. "Piiip LUUUP!" he yelled, holding up his flippers, the vortex of water quickly forming above him. He then launched it forward, sending the mass of swirling water towards the ghost types on the other end of the stage.

"Now, grab onto Togekiss and jump in!" Dawn ordered, not even sure if it was going to work. However, a moment later, her jaw dropped, along with much of the Shalour crowd as Piplup grabbed onto Togekiss and jumped with all the strength he could muster. He and the flying type were then sucked into the Whirlpool, right at the edge, disappearing from view. It would either end in disaster, or this could give Dawn the edge she needed. "Togekiss, if you can hear me, wake up!"

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'm not gonna let you take the edge here," Dusk called out, narrowing his eyes as he watched the Whirlpool spinning at the centre of the battlefield, approaching his Pokemon. "Gengar, use Shadow Ball, and Drifblim, use Phantom Force right after and get in close so you can use Hypnosis."

"Togekiss, if you can hear me, use Safeguard. Then use Air Slash!"

It all happened very quickly, but to Dawn, time seemed to be going very slowly. She could just barely see a bright light shining within the Whirlpool, just as Gengar's Shadow Ball crashed against it. Water sprayed everywhere, but Dawn saw a shape emerge a moment later, near the back, two heads poking above the surface.

"Toge!" Togekiss cried out, bringing her wings up, wind swirling around them. She then shot up into the air, bringing her wings down just as she and Piplup rose above the water, unleashing the blast of air upon it, sending water in all directions. Out of the corner of her eye, Dawn noticed Drifblim vanish, ready to launch its attack at any moment. She wasn't done, though.

"Now, Ice Beam, Piplup!" Dawn could see the Penguin Pokemon stand up straight on Togekiss' back, displaying incredible balance as she swooped down, putting him in perfect position to unleash his Ice Beam. The icy jet of energy hit in all directions, freezing the water raining down from the destroyed Whirlpool.

"Drifblim, now!" Dusk yelled, pointing straight at Piplup and Togekiss.

"Togekiss, Air Slash now!" Dawn countered.

A moment later, as the wind swirled around Togekiss' wings, a dark shape drove into her, sending her and Piplup reeling back. However, even with Drifblim in close pursuit, Togekiss unleashed the Air Slash, sending the chunks of ice flying towards Gengar, who was struck multiple times and sent staggering back, before a large chunk struck him in the chest, knocking him on his back.

Dawn knew what was happening next, and refused to let it happen again. "Piplup, drop down and use a Bubble Beam Counter Shield. Togekiss, keep Drifblim close!"

"Luuup!" Piplup answered, quickly leaping off and landing softly on the ground, before dropping on his back and spinning, sending the bubbles flying around him. Drifblim appeared to try to go after him, but was held at bay by the Counter Shield, instead choosing to continue the chase of Togekiss. Its body glowed once more in its eerie purple aura, and Dawn clenched her fists as she noticed Togekiss' body enveloped by it as well. However, a moment later, it seemed to shatter, a bright white light shining on Togekiss' body instead. Safeguard had done its job.

"Now's your chance Togekiss! Use Sky Attack!" Dawn yelled, smiling as she noticed Dusk look up, somewhat panicked. Togekiss acted immediately, flipping in midair and then swooping forward, driving her body hard into Drifblim's sending it down to land hard in front of Gengar.

Dawn allowed herself another look towards the scoreboard as both pairs of Pokemon lined themselves up in front of their trainers, ready to continue the next stage of the battle. A little over two minutes remaining, and...she was in the lead! Dusk had a little over a third of his points remaining, while she had slightly more. And now that she was ahead, it was time to finish things off so she could go help her friends.

"Piplup, Togekiss-"

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, distracting both Dawn and Dusk as a light entered the theatre from up top. The doors had been opened, and Dawn could see Trevor and Marie standing there. She instantly felt relieved, sure that they'd found Absol, and that nothing was wrong. But then...why would they interrupt the match? Why was Trevor rushing down the stairs, calling out to her?

 _Bzzz!_

Dawn blinked in surprise as the buzzer went, looking up to see the clock frozen. A few seconds later, Madame Adalene was making her way to the front of the stage, a look of anger on her face. "Excusé moi, young man! Zer is a Contest Battle going on and you must not interrupt it!"

"I know! I know!" Trevor insisted, reaching the bottom of the stairs. He could barely be heard now as people in the audience began to boo. Dawn, however, already had her hands on Togekiss' pokeball, stepping forward towards the edge of the stage, Piplup coming to join her. "This is an emer-"

"I do not know what ze problem is, but if it is serious, I suggest you go to Officer Jenny. Unless it concerns ze school or ze IPL, I will have to ask you to leave, or Lumiose will forfeit ze match." Trevor's jaw dropped at that. He glanced at Dawn, and then back at Adalene, before turning around and beginning to head back up the stairs, ignoring the yells directed at him.

Dawn wasn't letting him go alone. "Togekiss, return!" she called, turning around and holding up the pokeball. As she recalled the flying and fairy type, she noticed Tierno running out from backstage. He joined her as she hopped down off the stage, running up a few steps before anyone even realized what she was doing.

"Dawn!" She turned back, seeing Dusk looking both disappointed but slightly impressed as well. "You're just gonna give up?"

"I've got something more important to do," Dawn answered truthfully. "Good battle, Dusk, but next time, it'll be different. Be ready."

With that, she bent down to pick up Piplup, and then she and Tierno ran up towards Trevor, who looked both embarrassed about the situation, but also relieved to see them coming. They all quickly exited the theatre, Dawn doing her best to ignore the fact that she'd just lost another point for her team. She knew this was more important, though, and quickly looked to Trevor for answers as they joined Marie in the lobby.

"What's up? Is something wrong with Absol?" she asked, taking the lead as they opened the doors to get outside.

"It had to be important to burst in on the battle like that, Trevs," Tierno pointed out.

Trevor shook his head, looking a little unsure about what to say. "I...we didn't see any sign of Absol, but we found something. It might be related, I'm not sure. Shauna went to go and find Officer Jenny."

"Maybe it's better if we show you," Marie suggested, joining Dawn at her side and leading the group into the forest. Dawn felt a little ridiculous in her pink dress, running through these bushes and trees, and remembered Serena was doing the same thing at the moment. Whatever was happening today, Dawn knew none of them would forget it for a while.

"So what is this?" Dawn whispered to Marie as they ran, not really interested in waiting to find out, considering she'd just bailed on her match. "You can at least let me know what to expect."

Marie nodded, glancing back nervously at the group behind them. "It's bad," she said, voice shaking a little. "There's...cages...and blood. I think there's a Pokemon Hunter around here. And if they know where Absol is..." She didn't need to finish. Dawn knew exactly what she meant.

* * *

Ash felt terrible. He'd completely screwed up, and had let Serena down completely. He'd promised her that he'd make sure Absol was safe, and now, they had no idea where he was. It had all happened so fast. Ash had been trying to make sure he explained the different parts of the Performance to Absol, tried to calm him down when he'd seemed nervous, tried to stop him when he'd started to attack.

"It's not your fault, Ash," Serena suddenly said, stopping as they ran along the beach, while Rowlet flew above the edge of the forest. "I should've kept Absol backstage. The crowd was making him nervous, and then something about that Medicham freaked him out. I think it would've been much worse if you weren't there. He might've done more. The important thing is to make sure he's safe, though."

Ash wasn't fully convinced, but agreed that it was better to make sure Absol was safe now, before worrying about his guilty conscience. "Yeah, you're right," he said, nodding and looking up towards Rowlet, seeing the owl Pokemon flying in and out of the trees, searching all across the edge of the forest for the missing Disaster Pokemon. "Doesn't look like Rowlet's found anything so far. Maybe Greninja can help." He quickly pulled out the Ninja Pokemon's pokeball and tossed it into the air. A moment later, Greninja appeared in front of him, ready to move. "Greninja, we're looking for Absol. He's gone missing, and I know you're good at sensing your surroundings, so we need your help, all right?"

"Gren!" Greninja answered, nodding and turning around, getting a sense of his whereabouts.

Serena then called out Braixen, apparently deciding more eyes would be useful as well. "Maybe you two can help Rowlet look a little deeper in the forest," she suggested, looking at Ash, who nodded in agreement. "Braixen can light the way if its too dark in there."

"Braixen brai!" Braixen agreed, turning around quickly and leading the way to the forest, Greninja following close behind.

Ash watched them go a moment, before seeing them disappear into the trees. He then looked at Serena, before they both set off again, keeping an eye on the path ahead, and checking some of the rocks and bushes nearby. Ash wasn't sure how likely it was that they'd find Absol here, but knew he wouldn't stop looking. He wasn't going to give up, and he knew Serena wouldn't either.

He liked that about her. Much like him, Serena would push back against obstacles that got in her way, trying to prevent her from reaching her goal. She'd set her mind on becoming a great Performer, and even after losing to Gabby, she was right back at it. And here, she'd set her mind on helping Absol recover and learn from her, and nothing was going to stop her from finding him and making sure he was okay. _Don't give up till it's over, kay,_ that voice in his head said again. Where did that come from? It seemed so familiar and so important.

"Poliwag!"

"Huh?"

"Hey Ash, it's a Poliwag!" Serena said, taking his arm and pointing ahead. He followed her finger, seeing the Tadpole Pokemon up ahead, playing in the water, practising a weak Water Gun. They paused, watching it a moment. It was somewhat peaceful just watching a wild Pokemon playing, with no care in the world. "It...reminds me of another Poliwag," Serena whispered, sounding a little nervous.

"Oh yeah?" Ash asked, looking at her, interested to know more. She hadn't really talked too much about her adventures, so he wondered if she was going to mention something. It would give them something to talk about while they kept looking for Absol.

"Yeah...it introduced me to a really good friend of mine," she said, glancing down at Ash's arm, realizing she was still holding onto it and letting go quickly. "Um...not important right now."

Ash shook his head, taking Serena's hand, starting to walk forward towards the Poliwag. "Of course it is. We need something to talk about while we're searching. And who knows, maybe this Poliwag can help us out. Think you can ask it, Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking up at the electric mouse on his shoulder.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, quickly hopping down and running forward the rest of the way, Ash and Serena struggling to catch up, with Serena moving fairly slowly in her dress.

"Do you really think Poliwag can help us?" Serena asked, not sounding very confident in the idea.

"Doesn't hurt to ask," Ash pointed out, seeing Pikachu up ahead, coming to a stop in front of the Tadpole Pokemon.

Serena didn't say anything to that, and the two just continued over to where Pikachu and Poliwag were, Pikachu doing his best to explain what was going on, although even Ash struggled to understand what he was saying as he and Serena came to a stop in front of the two Pokemon.

"Pika pikachu chu pika," Pikachu finished, pointing at Serena as he did so.

"Poli poliwag," Poliwag said, glancing at the two trainers and then nodding at Pikachu. "Poliwag." It then broke out into a little run, heading straight for the forest, not even bothering to look back to see if everyone was following.

Pikachu quickly set off after it, Ash and Serena soon after, still moving a little too slowly. Ash didn't let go of Serena, though, deciding he would just rely on Pikachu to make sure they didn't get split up from Poliwag.

"So, do you think Poliwag actually knows where Absol is?" Serena asked, a hopeful look coming to her face as they entered the forest. Ash narrowed his eyes, looking up ahead, seeing Pikachu round a corner to keep up with Poliwag.

"It definitely seems to know where _something_ is," Ash said, giving her hand a comforting squeeze, wanting to make sure she continued to feel hope. He was sure they were going to find Absol.

Serena giggled as they continued to run, finally rounding the corner that Pikachu had gone around. Fortunately, Poliwag seemed to have slowed down a bit up ahead, Pikachu not far behind, glancing back to make sure Ash wasn't out of sight. "Poliwag seems like a good Pokemon for finding things," she said, giving Ash a look as though expecting him to know what she was talking about.

"I usually have more success with flying types, but I guess this one seems to know where it's going," Ash said, shrugging, not sure why Serena looked disappointed by his answer.

As the two of them caught up to Poliwag and Pikachu, the former looking like it was deciding between two paths, Ash glanced up at the sky, wondering if Rowlet had spotted anything, or if Greninja and Braixen were nearby. His thoughts were interrupted, though, as Poliwag was on the move once again, Pikachu quick to follow. This time, it was Serena who pulled Ash along behind her.

"So, what about that Poliwag that you mentioned before?" Ash asked, as they continued to follow _this_ Poliwag. "Did you catch it?"

"Oh no, I wasn't even a Pokemon Trainer when I saw that Poliwag. I was a little kid, and I was actually scared of it. I was lost in the woods, I hurt my knee, and I was terrified." Ash stared at her in surprise, imagining how horrible that must've felt. Part of him was confused, though, as it kind of sounded familiar to him. "I was in a small clearing, and I was trying to find someone to help me, but then the bushes started rustling. I was scared, and I fell, hurting my knee. The bushes kept rustling, and I had no idea what was about to happen, and then a Poliwag jumped out. It didn't really do anything but look at me and continue on its way, but there was someone following that Poliwag..."

Ash suddenly felt very lightheaded as he listened to Serena tell her story. Images started playing through his head. A Poliwag, a forest, bushes, a girl, a straw hat. He shook his head, looking at Serena, who's eyes were still trained on the path ahead, following Poliwag and Pikachu. That honey-blonde hair...if it was longer...if she wore a straw hat...the Poliwag...

"Poliwag!" He jumped at the noise, surprising Serena a little, though she quickly ignored it as the two caught up to the Tadpole Pokemon, who was standing in front of some bushes, looking up at them. "Poli poliwag!" he said, looking up at them, a nervous look in his eyes.

"Pika! Pikapikachu!" Pikachu attempted to translate, looking at Poliwag and then Ash. "Chu pika!"

"Is he through there?" Ash asked, feeling Serena gripping his hand so tightly he was sure his bones would crack. Poliwag nodded, quickly darting into the bushes, Pikachu behind him. Ash then looked at Serena, seeing fear in her eyes. "It's okay. We'll make sure he's okay." She nodded at that, and then Ash stepped forward, moving aside some of the branches, helping Serena get through behind him. It wasn't easy, but eventually they made it through and into a small clearing.

"Bee bee!"

"Gren!

"Braixen brai!"

"Pikapi!"

Ash and Serena stopped, eyes wide as they looked at the scene in front of them. Lying at the base of a tree was Absol, paws over his head, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. Ash could see no sign of him being physically hurt, assuming the Disaster Pokemon had simply chosen this as his hiding spot. In front of him, though, appeared to be a stand off, with Greninja and Braixen staring down an angry looking Elekid.

"Greninja, what's going on?" Ash asked, as the Poliwag that had guided them there turned around and ran back through the bushes, clearly wanting know part in any of this.

Greninja turned, looking surprised at the sight of his trainer. Before he could do anything, though, the bushes at the other end of the clearing rustled, and a moment later, three familiar faces appeared. "Elekid, why'd you – Ash! Serena!"

"Clemont?" Ash looked between the Lumiose Gym Leader and Elekid, and then back at Greninja, Braixen and Absol, who Serena was now sitting with, doing her best to calm him down, wiping dirt off of his fur with a blue handkerchief. "Do you know this Elekid?"

"Yeah, he was helping us find Absol. Looks like he knew where to go, too." Clemont then looked over to the electric type, who looked pretty proud of himself, now that he knew he wasn't in a fight anymore. "Thanks for the help, Elekid. We might've been lost in this forest forever if we didn't have you helping us."

"Yeah, and you even helped Clemont and Korrina-" Bonnie started to say, before Clemont covered her mouth, face bright red. It looked like Korrina was a little embarrassed as well, although she laughed, watching the two siblings.

Ash's attention then went to Serena and Absol. He quickly made his way over, kneeling down next to them, feeling relief wash over him as he noticed Absol looking far more relaxed with Serena there with him. "How are you, Absol?" Ash asked, reaching out and petting his neck fur.

The Disaster Pokemon blinked, nodding to indicate he was better. At least, better than before. He looked a little guilty as he stared back at Ash, though, clearly remembering what he'd done in the theatre. "Sol..."

"Absol, I'm just glad you're okay," Ash said truthfully. His gaze then went to the handkerchief Serena held in her hands, sensing the familiarity again. She'd used that handkerchief the first time they'd met, during the screening battles, hadn't she? Or...

"Absol, I made a mistake by not making sure you were comfortable with watching those performances," Serena said quietly. "I'm sorry I put you in a position where you would be scared. It wasn't fair to you. But, Absol, I think I've realized something. I want to help you recover. I want to help you be the best you can be, no matter what that involves. And, I think that might just include performances." Ash tilted his head in confusion, noticing a confused look from Absol as well, but he didn't say anything, listening as Serena continued. "You were scared, and maybe it wasn't just the crowd, and maybe you're still scared of that Pokemon Hunter, but you need to move forward. You're getting better everyday, and you can't dwell on what's happened in the past. You need to look to the future and become the best Pokemon you can be. You need to...not give up till it's over. Right...Ash?"

It was like waking up from a confusing dream, and seeing everything clearly once again. Ash's eyes went to the handkerchief and then Serena again. _The Poliwag...the girl with the straw hat. Don't give up till it's over._ He felt a movement in his backpack, almost as though the egg inside was confirming his thoughts. "The girl with the straw hat."

"You remember?" Serena's eyes lit up, and even Absol seemed to recognize this meant something, looking happily between the two.

Ash gave a short laugh, shaking his head, unable to believe that he'd forgotten her. After all this time, he hadn't even realized. How could Serena even forgive him for that? He was about to say something, not really sure what to say, but feeling like he needed to, however, just in that moment, he heard voices. Everyone immediately looked in the direction the voices were coming from, nobody making a sound, almost like they sensed danger. Ash slowly stood up, gesturing for the others to stay quiet.

He made his way over to the edge of the clearing, hearing the voices grow louder as he approached. He could see something past the bushes. It was some kind of flash of light, like a camera taking a picture. Then he noticed something pink, and blue hair, and orange hair. The bushes started rustling, and Ash could hear Pikachu and Greninja coming up behind him, ready for a battle. Then, a face emerged from the bushes.

"Ash! Oh what a relief, I thought you were...well...someone else," Trevor said, as Dawn and Tierno's heads poked out beside him. Their gazes all went behind Ash, each of them immediately looking relieved as they noticed Absol. Ash quickly explained his story as the three of them came into the clearing, joined shortly after by Marie and Shauna, and then Dawn and Tierno explained their stories, getting some disappointed groans from the others as they realized they'd been held off the scoreboard once again for the IPL.

"This is more important, though," Dawn muttered, pointing behind her at where they'd just come from. "You guys need to see this. Officer Jenny should be here soon."

"What is it?" Ash asked, immediately tensing up, thinking something bad was imminent. Apparently the Elekid that was with Clemont, Korrina and Bonnie thought so too, immediately running off, much to the displeasure of Bonnie.

"I think we've found something worse than Team Rocket," Trevor said, turning around and pushing through the bushes. "The guy who hurt Absol...there's more than just him."

 **Author's Note:**

Yeah...that went dark kind of fast. I've been hesitating on changing the rating of this story, and this is part of the reason. Pokemon hunters are nasty pieces of work, are they not?

As for the IPL... RoastAC begins now. Go ahead and be pissed about the losses. I feel each is important, and I can't do much more to defend my choices without spoilers, so...that's that.

See you next time.


	30. Hawlucha's Little Brother

**Author's Note:**

Hooray, Lumiose University is back! After...3 months? Again, I'm sorry about that. Crazy summer. Anyways, for those that didn't see, there's a oneshot out, that I published about 2 weeks ago. "Gotta Catch Some Sun" is the title. Set in the GCTO universe.

As for this, boy, it's been a long time. Anyways, last time was the end of the 2nd set of IPL matches where things went crazy as the presence of Pokemon hunters was discovered. Things were getting intense, so it definitely wasn't a good time for the gap in chapters. Think of it like a cliffhanger for the end of a season of a TV show.

Oh, and for those wondering. The rest of the OCs are coming in Coumarine. So, that's that. Let's get back to LU...finally.

 **Chapter 30: Hawlucha's Little Brother**

Ash had a hard time sleeping on the night he and his friends returned to Lumiose City from their disappointing, and towards the end, very stressful, weekend. He lay in bed, remembering the scene of the clearing Trevor had shown him and the others. It had made him sick. The cages, the patches of blood, the scattered feathers, the clumps of fur. He clenched his fists underneath the covers, grabbing the sheets in his fingers and pulling them up unintentionally.

He was frustrated. He was frustrated that someone, even more than just someone, could do such terrible things to Pokemon. He was frustrated that he'd been unable to keep his word to Serena and had almost allowed Absol to get pulled back into that terrible world. And, he was frustrated that he could do nothing. He and his friends were completely left out of it now, despite being the ones to find the clearing.

When Officer Jenny had arrived on the scene, the Lumiose students had given their accounts of what had happened and what they'd seen, but once Jenny had gotten enough information, everyone had been sent back to the Pokemon Centre. Ash, of course, had argued that they needed to stay, in order to help find the hunters. However, Jenny wouldn't hear any of it, telling them the hunters would be long gone by now, having either left the area around the city entirely, or having found somewhere better to hide. And once back at the Pokemon Centre, Professor Sycamore, and the rest of the Lumiose staff present, appeared to agree with leaving the matter to the police.

After getting their Pokemon checked on by Nurse Joy, most importantly Absol, and after a bit more arguing from the Lumiose students, the group was led to the bus by Sycamore, where a few of the Shalour students were waiting to say their goodbyes. Korrina, who was also frustrated, as Gurkinn had urged his own students, particularly her, to stay out of the matter, was waiting for them as they left.

"Don't worry, guys," she'd told them, "I'll keep an eye out for anything strange going on. If those hunters are around here, I'll find out. I promise." She had then given a wink to Clemont, saying, "Clemont's got my number, so we'll keep in touch. Nobody hurts Pokemon in this city when I'm the Gym Leader, and I'll be grateful if you guys are able to help if we find anything."

"Of course we'll help," Serena had promised, Absol growling in agreement at her side. "Someone needs to do something."

And with that, they departed on their long and frustrating bus ride. Not only were they exiting their second IPL match with another zero on the board for both teams, but they were leaving new friends and many Pokemon behind, with no idea what kind of danger they were in. None of them had been able to relax on the bus, and Ash had noticed Sycamore and the coaches appeared frustrated as well, despite not allowing them to do anymore in the hunting matter.

When they'd finally arrived in Lumiose City, the tired group had quickly set off to their residences, Sycamore setting off with Bonnie to drop her off at home. Serena, realizing there was little point to taking Absol to the Pokemon Centre, brought him along with her and Shauna. They, along with Ash and Clemont, arrived with slumped shoulders at the Greninja building, before splitting off to their respective rooms on the third floor.

It was a simple, "Goodnight," from Shauna and Clemont as they went to their rooms, but Ash and Serena were a little slower, hanging back. They hadn't really had the chance to speak since Ash had had his realization. However, with both of them clearly exhausted from the trip, and Pikachu and Absol struggling to keep their eyes open, the talk had to wait, and the two were left with an awkward moment of silence before setting off to their rooms.

And as Ash continued to think about the day's events, the frustration over not being able to do anything about the hunters was soon replaced with confused thoughts about Serena. He rolled over in his bed, groaning with increased frustration, Pikachu giving him a little kick from the foot of the bed, having been slightly disturbed. Ash couldn't quite understand why he was frustrated about what had happened with Serena. Maybe he was mad at himself for not remembering, or perhaps he was simply frustrated that they hadn't had a chance to talk about it. The timing couldn't have been worse.

He couldn't imagine what Serena had been thinking ever since they'd met...again. She must've been happy to see him, yet he'd still looked at her as a stranger. Clearly that meeting way back at camp had left an impression on her, but why had Ash forgotten? Now that he thought of it, it had been a nice moment, and he'd been happy to help out the lost, hurt girl that had been Serena. There was no reason for him to have forgotten it. That fact only made him more uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Had Serena remembered right away? Had she been waiting for him to say something? Was she upset?

Ash groaned, shaking his head and bringing his hands to his face. He was so embarrassed! He'd been hanging out with a girl for a couple months without knowing he'd already met her. No wonder she seemed to look at him differently than the others. She was probably just waiting for some kind of sign he'd remembered. And to think, Ash had almost been wondering if she...

If she what? Ash didn't really know. He didn't have words for it. He shook his head again, sighing and staring up at the ceiling in the room. It almost seemed like a light was on, as it was kind of bright, but Ash just assumed it was lack of sleep making him see things. Of course, with his mind all over the place, and with him being fired up from battling and the idea of going after those hunters, he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be getting a good sleep tonight.

However, as the minutes slipped by, his eyes grew heavier. The exhaustion of the day, the weekend, was catching up to him as he managed to calm his mind, focusing on the odd light on his ceiling. He listened to Pikachu's breathing, the soft, rhythmic sound relaxing him. As his eyes lowered, taking one last look at the electric mouse before drifting off, his gaze went to his shelf, seeing the little box he kept his blue ribbon in, next to the blue egg, that shook once, glowing a little, before his eyes finally closed.

In his dream, Ash was back in the forest at Professor Oak's camp, following that Poliwag, trying his best to catch up. It seemed to be going faster and faster with each step, and Ash struggled to keep up. Something seemed to be with the Poliwag. A Pokemon perhaps, covered in shadows and on two legs with floppy ears. Ash looked around, hoping Pikachu could run up ahead, but his partner Pokemon wasn't with him. He shrugged, part of him knowing it was a dream, so knowing it wasn't crucial to have Pikachu with him. However, as he noticed the Poliwag and its mysterious companion round a corner up ahead, he felt it important to run faster, putting everything into picking up his speed.

The more he ran, though, the further he fell behind, Poliwag and the shadowy Pokemon becoming a little speck in the distance as they ran through some bushes. Ash's heart pounded as he saw the Tadpole Pokemon vanish. For some reason, he felt he needed to keep it in sight. He felt that if he didn't, Poliwag, and whatever it and the other Pokemon was leading him to, would be hurt. Something...someone was here, threatening the peace of the forest.

"Poliwag!" Ash yelled, ignoring the fact that his voice didn't sound right, as though he were much younger.

"Aaah!"

Ash was almost sure his heart had stopped. That scream...it sounded so familiar.

"Sol!"

"No! Leave Absol alone! Ash!"

He ran harder, sure he was going to pass out from exhaustion at any moment, but determined to keep going, desperate to help whoever was calling out to him. The bush where Poliwag had gone through looked like it was further away, though, the scared voice quieter and quieter as shadows covered the path ahead.

No, Ash told himself, determined to help whoever was calling out to him, and to catch up to Poliwag. He clenched his fists and picked up his speed, somehow. He closed his eyes, lowering his head as though he was charging like a Tauros. When he opened his eyes a moment later, there was a brief flash of light and a strange sense of warmth washed over him as he looked ahead.

Suddenly, other voices joined. Something about rhythm, something about pictures, science, cute Pokémon, performing, battling. Friendly voices...happy voices. The bush seemed to get closer, a light shining through a small opening where Poliwag had gone through.

"Ash!"

This time, it wasn't a panicked call, but one of joy. A smile came to Ash's face, and he kept his run going, reaching the bushes, pausing briefly in case someone else spoke.

"Pikapi!"

Ash smiled, his mind finally clearing. He knew the voices. He knew what was on the other side of the bushes. He started to go through, a bright light shining from the other side. He was a little confused, however, at the urgency he suddenly heard from Pikachu.

"Pikapi! Chuuu!"

He heard something else as well. It was higher pitched, like it was something much younger. It almost seemed to come from his mind. Ru ru! Rururu!

Ash didn't really know how to answer, so he just continued forcing his way through the bushes, noticing an intense, almost blinding light from the other side. He thought he could just barely see Serena's face, near the base of the tree, looking up at the source of the light. Ash looked towards it as well, wincing from how bright it was. The light made him feel warm, though, and he felt himself drawn to it. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Serena attempt to move as well, although her leg seemed to buckle as she tried to stand. Then, just as Ash was about to reach out to the light, he felt intense pain surround his body.

"Pikapi! Piii kaaa chuuu!"

"Ahhh!" Ash opened his eyes wide, seeing his mattress half hanging off of his bed, his blankets all over the place. His body felt like it was buzzing, and a moment later, he noticed the reason in front of him, Pikachu looking both guilty and exasperated. "What was that for?"

Ash asked, assuming the electric mouse had a good reason for jolting him awake.

"Chu," Pikachu answered, turning and pointing up to the shelf in front of the bed. Ash turned his head, his sleepy eyes not fully understanding for a moment, until realization finally set in.

"The egg is hatching!"

Ash was up immediately, grabbing the blankets and sheets that were tangled in his legs and throwing them on the bed. He quickly slipped on his shoes and rushed forward, grabbing the egg as Pikachu scurried up onto his shoulder. The egg was warm, shaking and shining brightly, but Ash was desperate to get out of his room. He wanted Serena to see this. She had to see this. He darted out of the room, hoping he wasn't disturbing Clemont, and quickly made his way to the front door.

He felt somewhat giddy as he and Pikachu emerged in the hallway. He didn't even know what time it was, and might've been worried about getting in trouble for running in the halls in the middle of the night, but he was too focused on running to Serena's room, the egg shaking and shining even brighter now. Ash didn't even look where he was going, just running towards his destination. But then, he crashed into something, and fell back, hearing a surprised yelp in front of him.

"Owww," he groaned, rubbing his head and sitting up. He quickly looked at the egg in his arms, relieved to see that it still seemed fine. Then, he looked up, hoping he hadn't hurt someone in his urgency. The person sitting on the ground in front of him, though, simply smiled when he looked up, eyes immediately drawn to the egg. "Serena?"

"I knew it was hatching!" she said excitedly, shuffling over on her knees. Her head came close to his as she leaned over to look at the egg, cracks now forming on it. The pink bow in her hair brushed against his head, and he felt his cheeks heat up, realizing he was in his pyjamas. He didn't know why it made him feel so awkward, but he assumed it was partly due to the fact that the egg was resting in his lap, where all he had was short pyjama bottoms, and Serena's eyes were looking that way. He did his best to ignore that, though, as he focused on the widening cracks in the egg.

More light began to shine through the cracks in the egg, and Ash wondered if their presence would draw the attention of people from their rooms. However, despite the light getting brighter, nobody came, Ash and Serena clearly the only ones awake. After a few more seconds, the light finally began to dim, though, and Ash suddenly felt something else in his arms. It was softer, the fur brushing against his legs as whatever it was began to stretch. Ash felt a hand, or maybe a paw, grab onto his wrist, as though the creature was examining its surroundings. When the light fully died down, Ash looked upon the new Pokemon in his lap.

"R-ru?" It looked around, staring up curiously at Ash, and then turning its head to gaze at Serena, who had moved back a bit. She couldn't have looked more excited, and Ash was no different.

"It looks a bit like a Lucario," Serena noted, smiling as the Pokemon reached out to grab her hands.

"He's a Riolu," Ash told her, picking the baby Pokemon up and handing it to her. "It evolves into Lucario."

Serena lifted up the small Aura Pokemon, looking him in the eyes. He seemed very curious, constantly reaching out and eventually grabbing onto her bow and pulling it out of her hair. She didn't seem bothered by that, though, clearly just happy to be with the new Pokemon. "So a fighting type? I guess he'll be a battler."

"Maybe," Ash laughed out, sliding over to sit next to Serena, ignoring the fact they were in the middle of the hallway. "Whatever he feels like doing, I'll be glad. I've always thought a Riolu would be a cool Pokemon to have."

"Ru ru!" Riolu cheered at that, looking up at Ash from Serena's arms.

"Riolu will be a great Pokemon to have," Serena assured Ash, handing the Aura Pokemon to him. "And we'll be the best trainers possible."

* * *

As Korrina was walking home from her morning class, she made sure to take the route that led her past the police station. She intended to keep her word to her Lumiose friends, and as the Gym Leader of this city, she felt it was her duty to ensure all the people and Pokemon were safe from the potential harm that appeared to be present. However, when she'd stopped by, Officer Jenny didn't seem to have much information.

"It's still early," she'd said, "but it won't be easy to track down whoever was using that spot. It appears to have just been a transfer point and likely was only used a few days ago. If any hunters are still in and around the city, they'll have a hiding place that's far more secure."

The explanation made sense, but Korrina wasn't fully satisfied. With what she and her friends had seen, far more needed to be done. There had to be some kind of evidence that could lead her to where the hunters were, or at least where another transfer point was. So, of course, she decided to have a little look for herself once leaving the police station. She wouldn't be able to look specifically in the area they'd discovered, as police would likely still be there, but perhaps she could find something else in the general area. She wanted to at least have something she could tell her Lumiose friends.

With that, Korrina set off, deciding to start with the area where she, Clemont and Bonnie had found Elekid, wondering if there might be any other Pokemon that had fled the forest to that area. When she found nothing there, though, including no sign of the electric type that had helped them, she headed to the forest once more, heading down the same path that Elekid had led her, Clemont and Bonnie down.

It was a slow walk for her. She was aware that police might still be in the area, conducting a similar search, but likely not interested in her help. There was also the risk of the hunters, although Korrina felt that wasn't too likely, and knew Lucario and her other Pokémon would be able to deal with them. If she was caught, however, she worried her grandfather would be giving her yet another lecture, and she definitely didn't want another one of those.

Korrina narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists as she thought of what Gurkinn had said to her the day before. Her grandfather had been quite upset with the fact that she'd had Lucario mega evolve in her battle against Clemont. A part of her had expected it, knowing Gurkinn wanted her to rely less on it, but it was still frustrating for her to get scolded after a hard fought win. She still felt she deserved it, although she couldn't help but feel bad for ignoring her grandfather's request to work on battling a little differently.

Thinking back on the battle, she tried to come up with some ideas for how she might have been able to win...differently. Clemont and his Luxray had fought well, both working in near perfect sync. She could tell how close they were, simply from how smoothly each command from Clemont resulted in a swift attack from Luxray. The two of them could clearly sense the determination in one another. It was one of the things that made Korrina interested in Clemont.

She quickly shook her head, blushing as that thought crossed her mind, glad that she hadn't yet called out Lucario to accompany her. Her partner Pokemon always seemed to pick up on things like that, and she definitely didn't feel like having that awkward topic come up for her.

Korrina continued walking for a few more minutes, thoughts wandering away from battling as she attempted to stay focused on the task at hand. She stopped every once in a while, looking for any signs of disturbances in the forest that may have been a sign of any activity recently. At one point, a couple of police officers were making their way down a path she was searching on, so she had to quickly duck behind some bushes, startling some Scatterbugs. Fortunately, she was able to stay hidden, even with one of the cops glancing in the direction of the scurrying bug types.

Then, it was quiet, and Korrina continued her search without much sign of anyone around. She called out Lucario once she was near the clearing, hearing some sounds of a few police officers who must have been there. Lucario stayed quiet, and the two of them carefully manoeuvred their way past the clearing, deciding to check a little further past the area for any clues. When they came to another small clearing, which was empty, save for a flock of Fletchling flying away upon their arrival, they stopped, Korrina deciding it was a good place to look around.

"Look for anything that could be a sign of where they might've been going, okay Lucario?" Korrina said, as the Aura Pokemon stepped forward into the clearing. "Anything like footprints, tire tracks, any kinds of items a hunter would use..." The two of them exchanged an uncomfortable look at the last suggestion, before Lucario turned and started looking. Korrina didn't want to even imagine what might've been used by some of these hunters.

After a few minutes of searching the clearing, it was clear that neither of them were finding anything, and Korrina was becoming increasingly frustrated. If the police would just let her help, she'd be able to work with them and together they would probably find _something_. Why did they have to keep her out of it? Clearly she was capable of protecting herself, and if she did end up in trouble, she had strong Pokemon by her side, all of them admired by trainers throughout the Kalos region for being part of one of the toughest gyms. They deserved to be a part of the protection of Shalour City, Kalos and the people and Pokemon living there.

Korrina stood up suddenly, letting her frustration take over as she kicked a stone into some bushes to the left of Lucario, who was also standing up. She was about to suggest they move on to somewhere else, when suddenly, she heard a strange noise from the bushes the stone had gone into. She exchanged a look with Lucario, and the two of them stepped forward, looking at the bushes curiously. What had that been?

"Beebeeee!" The yellow bolt of electricity burst out of the bushes, striking both Korrina and Lucario instantly, sending them flying back and crashing into the dirt. They lay there for a moment, twitching from the pain of the electric attack.

Lucario was the first to get up, quickly getting into a fighting stance, while Korrina quickly glanced around to see if anyone was coming, possibly having heard the noise. Luckily, nobody seemed to have been close enough to hear, or if they were, just assumed it was wild Pokemon going about their business. She then turned her attention to where Lucario was facing, seeing just what it was that had attacked them.

"Elekid?" Korrina couldn't help but smile. She'd thought the electric type had run off for good once they'd found that clearing, but it was still here, and apparently quite willing to fight anyone who got in its way.

"Ruru?" Lucario asked, turning and glancing at her, as though asking if he should be fighting the Elekid.

"No, Elekid's a friend," Korrina assured her loyal partner Pokemon. Her eyes then went to the Electric Pokemon, who was now looking at her curiously. His gaze went around the clearing, as though searching for something else, before finally looking back at her, lowering its arms that had been raised in preparation to attack. Korrina was pretty sure of what he'd just been looking for, and smiled again, before explaining it to Elekid. "Clemont and Bonnie aren't with me today. They had to go back to Lumiose City."

Elekid actually looked a little disappointed at that, eyes shifting down a bit, before sighing and looking back up at Korrina. "Beebee," he said, pointing at her and Lucario. He then pointed at the direction they'd come from and then the clearing. "Bee beebee."

"Lucario and I came here to have a look around to see if we could find anything about those hunters," Korrina explained. "We haven't had much luck so far. I'm sorry about startling you." Elekid nodded, not seeming too bothered about it now. He stepped forward, eyeing Lucario carefully, before stepping in front of Korrina.

"Beebeebee," he announced, pointing at himself, and then her, Lucario and finally their surroundings. "Beebee!"

"You want to help us look?" Korrina asked, happily surprised. Elekid nodded, looking to Lucario, seemingly looking for his approval. The Aura Pokemon nodded, apparently deciding to trust the electric type with his trainer doing so, and then he looked at Korrina, waiting for her next plan. "All right then, Elekid. Since you know this forest better than us, how about you lead the way. Help us find some good hiding spots that the hunters might have used. Then, when we find them, we'll make them pay!"

* * *

Anton sighed in frustration as he watched the fifth straight Pokemon, a Magmar, fall easily to his Marowak. The Magmar's trainer, a guy with spiky blue hair, who had been quite sure of a victory, was quick to recall his Pokemon and leave the battlefield. Anton could hear taunting and laughing from his fellow Battle Team member Dean, there with the rest of the IPL team, excluding Gabby who appeared to be running late for their training. A quick look from Anton silenced Dean, however, the sunglasses unable to hide the menacing glare.

As the rest of the team stopped cheering due to Anton's obvious displeasure, the sound of the doors to the training field opening caused them all to look towards the person entering. Anton assumed it was another person challenging him, desperate to end his undefeated streak, but it was just his sister, skipping gleefully up to the field he was at. She had a piece of paper in her hands, holding it up for everyone to see. As she came to a stop near the rest of the team, Anton decided to make his way over, noticing interested looks from the others.

"What's up, Gabby?" he asked, coming to a stop beside her as Lisa handed back the sheet, smirking.

"It's the updated IPL standings," Gabby answered, handing the sheet to Anton. "Both of our teams have a good chance at all but locking up a playoff position in our next matches. Coumarine or Lumiose might be out of it for their battle team by then."

"Ketchum lost again?" Anton asked, unable to hide his surprise. As much as he hated to admit it, he expected a little more from the trainer who had at least given him a challenge. Anton didn't even feel fully satisfied with his victory in their match in Lumiose City, so it was slightly frustrating to hear that Ash had lost.

"I heard it was his Pikachu," Gabby explained, looking thoughtful. "Kind of strange, considering how close those two looked. I thought it was supposed to be a strong one."

"Shalour's got a pretty good system in place," Casey said, glancing at the standings sheet. "Not surprising they'd do well against a team we held off the scoreboard."

"Their victory only makes ours even less meaningful," Anton muttered, glaring at the battlefield, imagining the carefree Lumiose trainers standing at the other end. "Clearly we weren't up against very good opponents."

"They're better than...this," Gabby said quietly, looking somewhat...sad? "Serena wouldn't lose to any random Performer. From what we know, there's no one who's performed at as high a level as her and that girl Shauna from Shalour. Maybe they could get lucky in a Theme Performance, but I doubt it for freestyle."

"From what I saw, any success they've had was luck." Anton shook his head, not really caring to continue the conversation. He glanced around, seeing if anyone else was going to challenge him, but could see that clearly he had no one else to battle for the time being. "I'll see you guys later. I think I'll do some training on my own for a little while."

As he walked out, Anton could almost feel the eyes of his teammates on him. He heard his sister call out to him, but he ignored it, not really interested in hearing anymore of her news. He had little enough interest as it was when it came to his opponents. He really didn't feel like hearing about one who had appeared relatively strong only becoming weaker. And to think it happened in Shalour. He hated that place.

Anton could still remember his early days as a trainer. It had been fun for him back then, he couldn't deny that. But he learned the hard way that it couldn't be like that, if he ever wanted to have any success. He'd studied up on all his favourite Pokemon, travelled around Kalos with some of them, and finally, he'd found out about the gyms around Kalos that he could challenge. He and his young Scyther, given to him by his father, a bug type fanatic, rushed to the first gym they could find.

First, they arrived at the Santalune Gym, where they came across the bug type leader, Viola. Anton had been so excited about his first gym battle that he'd called his father and sister to come and see him battle. To this day, he could still remember them cheering him on in the stands as he sent out his first Pokemon, a Fletchling caught only a couple weeks prior.

Using what he'd known about bug types from his father's fascination with them, Anton had the advantage early on. Thinking back on it, he was fairly sure that Viola had gone easy on him, considering he was a rookie, but back then, he'd felt like he was on top of the world. His Fletchling easily beat the Scatterbug that had been sent against it, and after Viola's Surskit had narrowly defeated the flying type, Scyther managed to clinch the victory.

After that, Anton, with his first badge in hand, set off for his next gym challenge. And his sister, so excited after witnessing his victory, was given permission to tag along by their father. The two of them took their time, both of them wanting to see all the Pokemon they could, along the way to their next destination, which was in Cyllage City.

Inspired by his battle with Viola, Anton caught himself a Scatterbug, and by the time he and his sister had come across a place called the Battle Chateau, it had grown into a very capable Vivillon, in the Elegant Pattern, wings coloured in different shades of purple. Along with an abandoned Cubone found just outside Lumiose City, the new bug type added to Anton's growing family. He was ready to use his newest pair of Pokemon, and his continuously growing others, to show the trainers at the Battle Chateau just what he could do.

It was almost easy for him, his Fletchling defeating a Chespin as Anton took on a fellow rookie trainer. Then, it was Vivillon, beating back a Beedrill in a battle of bug types. In his third and final match, before heading off to Cyllage City, Anton found himself up against yet another young trainer. A blonde girl, claiming to be a gym leader from Shalour City, and master of mega evolution.

Their battle was his most exciting yet. Anton sent out his Cubone, who, despite having been abandoned, was a very capable fighter, and had complete trust in the trainer who had rescued it. The blonde girl from Shalour City sent out a little Riolu in answer, and their battle started.

Attack after attack was exchanged, Riolu taking the early advantage, while Cubone struggled to keep up. Eventually, though, the tide of battle turned, with Anton refusing to give in, and his new Cubone sensed that desire. Riolu was suddenly on the defensive, its trainer stunned by Anton's and Cubone's resolve. And finally, after a devastating Bone Club, Riolu fell, and Anton claimed the victory.

With the battle over, Anton went to the girl, who had quickly scooped up her Riolu and was now on her way to the Pokemon Centre. He asked for a gym badge, as she had claimed she was the Shalour Gym Leader. She awkwardly admitted she wasn't, but also added that even if she was, she couldn't give the badge if it wasn't an official gym battle. She did tell him to make sure to go to the Shalour Gym, though, promising that the true leader there, her grandfather, would give him his hardest match yet.

Excited by this prospect, Anton and Gabby were back on their journey quickly. On the way to Cyllage City, Anton was given an egg by a Pokemon Daycare worker, who he'd helped with a rampaging Skarmory. After battling the Skarmory with his loyal Scyther, he'd managed to catch the steel and flying type, saving the daycare, and earning the gratitude of the workers there. And, only a few days later, just before arriving in Cyllage City, Anton officially had his first full team of six Pokemon, with a Tyrogue hatching from the egg.

He'd never been so confident as he set off to battle Grant at the Cyllage Gym. The first battle was against Grant's powerful Onix, and it immediately proved a tough challenge. However, with Cubone's hard work and quick movements, the battle was won with a final Bone Club to give Anton the early lead. Grant's Tyrunt proved a tougher challenge, defeating Cubone quickly and making Anton wonder just who to send out next. Eventually, he decided on his new Skarmory, which proved to be the perfect choice, as the steel and flying type dominated the battle from the air, swiftly flying through a Draco Meteor attack as it finished the match with a powerful Steel Wing.

At this point, Anton was sure he could win any battle he fought in. He and his sister were off to Shalour City the next day, and with his team growing stronger and stronger by the day, Anton was sure he'd have his eight badges in no time, so he could challenge the league and become the youngest champion in the history of Kalos.

Little did he know, he was about to find out the truth about the gyms and the Pokemon League.

* * *

"Oh he's so cute!" Shauna practically screeched as soon as she saw Riolu. She didn't seem particularly bothered, but many people gathered around some of the other battlefields in the training facilities looked over, some of them with worried looks. Serena just smiled awkwardly, giving Riolu a comforting pat as he looked a little startled himself. She noticed Absol, who stood next to her, growl softly, which seemed to make Shauna a little embarrassed, before she quickly resumed fawning over Riolu.

"He hatched last night," Ash explained to their group of friends. Everyone was waiting in front of one of the battlefields, as they'd all arranged to meet Agatha, Flint and Fantina after the day's classes had ended. "I guess the battles and performances in Shalour City got him all excited."

"I wonder if there might be some connection," Clemont said thoughtfully, surprising Serena and Ash a little, as clearly neither of them had really been quite sure of that. Clemont continued, noticing their confused expressions. "It's possible that Riolu sensed Korrina's Lucario. They're Aura Pokemon after all, and Riolu evolves into Lucario."

"Maybe..." Ash said quietly, looking up at Pikachu, exchanging a knowing look. Serena thought back to the dream she'd had the night before, with Absol and her in a forest. The details were fuzzy, but she was sure she could remember hearing Ash, and seeing a strange shadow. Could it have been...?

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as the sight of Flint, Agatha and Fantina approaching distracted the whole group. Ash in particular looked quite excited at the sight of them, and Serena assumed he wanted to start showing Riolu all about battling as soon as possible. She didn't mind, happy to go along with whatever interested the baby Pokemon, although she was definitely interested in showing him some performing, along with Absol.

"How's everyone doing?" Flint asked, an excited gleam in his eyes as he came to a stop next to Ash. "We've got a lot planned for today. After those matches against Shalour, we've really got to get on a roll. I think we all agree that we should get some training in while the battles and performances are still fresh in our minds. And...um...to clear our heads from some of the other things that went on."

"Sol," Absol growled, followed by a moment of awkward silence from the group before Flint continued.

"So," Flint said, a little of his excitement gone due to nervousness from the awkward silence a moment before, "Agatha, Fantina and I have decided to do some work with everyone as a group. Battlers, performers and coordinators. We'll spend some time on each aspect of training as we approach the final match of the semester against Coumarine. We feel that understanding the different training aspects will give you each a useful collection of new tools for battles, coordinating and performances."

Agatha then spoke up, further explaining Flint's proposition. "We want to give everyone a more balanced approach to their competition of choice. Battlers, you'll learn more creativity by practising as coordinators and performers. And the coordinators and performers will learn to think a little faster and be more assertive in your commands and movements."

"So...um...we're going to be performing?" Clemont asked nervously. Serena and Shauna glanced at each other, the latter barely holding back a laugh. The idea of Clemont performing definitely seemed strange. Serena could at least see Ash doing something like it, as his battles had some of that creativity behind them. Clemont, and Trevor as well, were both far more analytical in their approach. Obviously Tierno wouldn't mind either way.

Flint nodded, but held up a hand to signal for the group to hold their questions for a moment. "We'll be practising in all of these aspects, and depending on how well it goes, this may very well be our main method of training going into the next semester. I think it will keep us all on our toes. As for today's training, we'll be focusing on battling, since it's something we're all a little more familiar with."

Serena could hear the relieved sighs from Clemont and Trevor as she looked over at Ash, seeing him pump his fist in excitement. She could tell he was ready to get back to winning again, and she had a feeling it wasn't going to take long. He looked very motivated to show Riolu, and perhaps himself, what it truly meant to never give up.

"We want to make sure zat ze most experienced battlers are paired with ze less experienced ones, so we have matched Trevor with Dawn, Tierno with Shauna and Clemont with Serena," Fantina called out, pointing the each person as she called out their name.

Serena smiled at Clemont, interested to see how she might fare against one of the better gym leaders in Kalos, before realizing that Ash's name hadn't been called. The others seemed to have noticed as well, looking towards the raven-haired trainer, who, based on his smile, hadn't quite figured it out yet. Once he realized everyone was looking at him, though, Ash seemed to pick up on it.

"What about me?" he asked.

"I was thinking you might be up for demonstrating some of that creativity you like to pull off in your battles," Flint suggested, narrowing his eyes and smiling. "What do you think about battling Infernape and me?"

Serena could sense the excitement bubbling over in Ash as he stared back at Flint, eyes wide. "You bet!" he almost yelled, looking excitedly at Riolu, who Shauna was now holding in her arms. The Aura Pokemon definitely seemed to be quite interested in what was going on in front of it. "Riolu, make sure to watch carefully, okay? I want you to learn everything about battling, coordinating and performing, and it all starts here."

"Rururu!" Riolu cheered, waving his little arms excitedly.

Ash then took a step forward towards the battlefield, Flint already making his way towards his spot. Then, he stopped, glancing back at Riolu, looking thoughtful. "Hold on, I just have to make a quick call!" he announced to the group, before quickly spinning around and dashing through the doors, presumably heading towards the lobby.

"Where's he going now?" Dawn asked, looking exasperated. "Out of all the people to leave us waiting for a battle, who would've thought it'd be Ash?"

Everyone laughed at that, including Agatha who tapped her cane on the ground as she scanned the rest of the group. As the laughter died down, she gave them a bit more of a serious look, before smiling. "You've all done a wonderful job of supporting one another these past few weeks. It's not been an easy start for the school, or for our IPL teams, but I can tell you're all working hard, and that you're there for each other. You're starting to become a true team. A family. I expect Coumarine's IPL teams are going to be in for quite a tough time when we show up there in a few weeks."

The group gave a little cheer at that. It was strange, as they'd just come off of a stressful weekend, losing another set of matches, and then finding the clearing where the hunters had been, but Serena almost felt...lighter. They could have won a few of those matches against Shalour, but they'd sacrificed those wins for something more important. Like Agatha said, they _were_ growing as a team, and they _were_ going to be a challenge for their future opponents. And looking at Riolu and Absol, she knew that their team, their _family_ , was never going to let those hunters in Shalour get away with what they were doing. They had too many people and Pokemon to protect.

They waited for about five minutes, and then the doors that Ash had exited from, opened once more, and he came running back in. Serena was surprised, seeing a pokeball in his hand, and wondered if he'd forgotten Greninja's pokeball and decided he needed the powerful Ninja Pokemon for the battle with Flint. She realized that was a silly thought, though, knowing the dorm rooms were too far away for him to have come back that quickly. She couldn't help but wonder, though, just what...or _who_ , he'd brought with him for this battle. He _did_ have quite a few other Pokemon back in Kanto...

"All right, Flint, sorry about that. I'm ready!" Ash declared, running up to his side of the battlefield.

"Went to make a call, huh?" Flint said with a laugh, pulling out his pokeball and tossing it forth to reveal his Infernape. "Did you tell Professor Oak I say hi?"

Ash laughed at that, holding up the pokeball he'd brought in. Pikachu hopped down off of his shoulder and stood at his side, looking a little disappointed he wasn't battling, but giving his trainer a cheer nonetheless. Ash then glanced once more at Riolu, who was now sitting on top of Absol, who seemed to be growing fond of the baby Pokemon after not being so pleased to have been woken up by it the previous night. "Riolu, watch carefully," he said again, before looking forward once more and tossing the pokeball forward. "Hawlucha, I choose you!"

"Lucha lucha!" The Wrestling Pokemon emerged from the flash of light, spinning the air, before landing gracefully, holding up his cape-like wings and then bowing to the crowd that was beginning to gather around the battlefield. Serena could hear some excited murmuring, with someone muttering something about Flint's Infernape giving the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, a hard time once.

Riolu cheered as Hawlucha finished up with some of his poses, eyes shining as he looked up at his fellow fighting type. Serena could definitely see now why Ash had chosen the Wrestling Pokemon. Not only was he strong enough that he could at least make this battle interesting, but he could also set an example for Riolu about what fighting types could accomplish. She remembered Ash mentioning Hawlucha's relationship with his Noivern, and instantly supported the choice, clapping as Hawlucha gave one last bow in Riolu's direction.

Clemont offered to be the referee and made his way over to stand at the sidelines between the two trainers. He glanced at each of them and then raised an arm. "This will be a one on one battle between Ash and Flint. When either Hawlucha or Infernape is unable to battle, the other trainer will be declared the winner. Are you ready?"

Serena was surprised at how excited she was to see this battle, but as she watched Ash's eyes flash with determination, she knew she was justified in her excitement. This battle meant something, that was certain. As both Ash and Flint signalled they were ready, their two Pokemon tensing up in preparation for the fight, Clemont waved his arm down, calling for it to begin.

Ash was quick to act, as usual, desperate to get Hawlucha into the action as fast as possible. "Hawlucha, Karate Chop, let's go!"

"Haw! Hawlucha!" Hawlucha yelled, lowering his body and then leaping forward, his fist glowing white as he sailed towards Infernape.

"Mach Punch!" Flint answered quickly, the Flame Pokemon launching himself forward in an instant, his own fist glowing white.

Serena could see that Hawlucha was in trouble even before the two Pokemon were close to each other. Infernape moved so swiftly, so precisely, that when he was in front of Hawlucha, it was like time was moving at a tenth of the speed for him. He easily ducked past Hawlucha's fist and slammed forward with his own, striking the Wrestling Pokemon in the chest and sending him spinning back across the battlefield. She gasped, along the now rather large crowd of people, watching Hawlucha spin back before coming to a stop and slowly getting to his feet.

"You can do this, Ash," Serena whispered. She caught sight of Agatha watching the raven-haired trainer intently, clearly interested to know his next move. Serena could see now why this battle had been proposed. What better way to prove Ash knew his direction than a battle with an Elite Four member.

"Hawlucha, you okay?" Ash called out to his fighting type. The Wrestling Pokemon nodded, doing a quick pose, flexing his muscles, to show he was ready to continue. Ash smiled at that, before pointing ahead and calling his next attack. "Get in there with X-Scissor!"

Serena knew Ash well enough at this point to know he had a plan with this attack. Clearly it was dangerous to get in close with Infernape, but Ash had chosen Hawlucha because he believed in him, and Serena knew they weren't going to give up.

"Use Mach Punch, again!" Flint ordered, narrowing his eyes as Hawlucha crossed his arms in front of himself.

"Infernape!" Infernape screeched, kicking off and holding his glowing fist back as he launched himself towards Hawlucha.

"Take the hit!" Ash said calmly. Serena could hear Tierno muttering something about Ash being crazy and Dawn telling him there was, "no need to worry," but she was too focused on the incoming collision between the two Pokemon to say anything.

Infernape reached Hawlucha immediately, pulling his fist back a little further and then striking forward, driving it right into Hawlucha's crossed arms, which were glowing bright white. Serena could see the hawk Pokemon wince as Infernape strained against him, this time unable to send Hawlucha flying back like the first time.

"Now, strike back!" Ash yelled confidently, and his smirk matched Hawlucha's just as the latter stepped sideways, causing Infernape to stumble just enough for him to unleash the X-Scissor into the Flame Pokemon's chest.

"Fernape!" Infernape shouted, staggering back from the hit, looking surprised by the force that had been behind it.

"Great job, Hawlucha! Now keep it up with Karate Chop!" Ash ordered, clearly wanting to keep the pressure on Flint and his powerful fire type.

"I don't think so, Ash!" Flint laughed out, looking like he was starting to really get into the battle too. "Infernape, Close Combat!"

Serena was surprised at how quickly Hawlucha managed to get to his opponent, quickly lashing out with one fist, and then the other. Flint and Infernape must have been surprised as well, as Hawlucha managed to land three straight hits to Infernape's midsection, chest and jaw, before the Flame Pokemon managed to get his own punches going. Hawlucha was able to catch a couple of punches with his Karate Chop attacks, but ultimately, Infernape was too fast and too furious in his efforts. Within seconds, the fists were flying, pummelling poor Hawlucha all over as he stumbled backwards, struggling for space.

It was almost painful to watch as Hawlucha was punched at relentlessly. Serena looked towards Ash, seeing that he was looking slightly nervous. However, she was surprised to see him with a hint of a smile as well. When her gaze went to Hawlucha, who was quickly hit in the stomach three times, her jaw dropped, seeing the Wrestling Pokemon almost laughing.

"Hawlucha loves nothing more than to take a few hits to get a feel for his opponent," Ash explained to Flint, who also seemed to have noticed Hawlucha's apparent joy at being punched over and over again. "And when he knows he's fighting a strong opponent, he battles at whole new level. High Jump Kick!"

"Lucha!" Hawlucha flipped backwards so quickly that Infernape nearly fell on his face as he attempted to keep up with his barrage of punches. It made him just vulnerable enough so that when Hawlucha kicked off, his knee glowing white, he could only watch as the kick hit him square in the chest. And this time, it was Infernape who was sent flying backwards across the field, sliding across the ground before rolling back onto his feet in front of Flint.

"Wow, Ash," Flint said, laughing, "that Hawlucha...is something else." He then exchanged a look with his Infernape, both of them nodding, as though deciding to step things up to another level. "Let's keep this thing going. Infernape, Flare Blitz!"

"Flying Press!" Ash countered, Hawlucha leaping into the air before the command was even out of his trainer's mouth.

As Infernape was engulfed in bright flames, Hawlucha shot into the air, stopping high above the field, spreading his wings and flexing his muscles in a couple of poses. Then, Infernape screeched and kicked off, leaping into the air, eyes locked onto Hawlucha. The Wrestling Pokemon was just as quick, staring down and spinning his body as he descended at full speed. Serena tensed up, smiling as she heard Riolu cheering for Hawlucha, clearly as excited about the battle as everyone else who had gathered around.

"Lucha!"

"Infernape!"

The two Pokemon collided with full force, sending a gust of wind and heat in a circle around them, almost knocking both trainers off of their feet and sending a few people in the crowd into those standing behind them. Serena had to quickly lean down and hold onto Absol and Riolu, steadying them from the sudden blast of energy.

Her eyes then drifted upwards, back towards the battlefield. A bit of smoke was settling from the impacting attacks, but Serena could see the two forms of the battling Pokemon, each standing a few feet in front of their trainers, panting from the powerful, colliding attacks. She definitely couldn't blame Riolu for being excited. These two Pokemon, and their trainers, were definitely capable of putting on quite the show.

Serena was just about to say so to Shauna, when she saw Hawlucha suddenly drop to one knee. For a second she thought he was about to faint, but then she saw the flames shoot up around his body. "Luchaaa!" he cried out in pain, wincing as the flames danced around him.

"Hawlucha!" Ash called out in concern.

"An effect of Flare Blitz," Agatha explained, obviously her point directed at those on the IPL team, although some people in the crowd looked at her, taking the chance for a little lesson. "A clever move by Flint. He knew Close Combat would have made Infernape vulnerable to a powerful attack from Hawlucha, so he took that chance to even the odds, knowing Ash would make his move." Her eyes then went to the panting Infernape, who Serena could see looked pretty tired. "It's still a dangerous move for those using it, though."

"All right, Infernape, let's take our chance," Flint called out, locking his eyes onto Hawlucha, who was only now losing the flames that bathed his body. Serena tensed up, seeing that the Wrestling Pokemon might not be able to react in time. She even heard a nervous cry from Riolu, and a grunt from Absol. "Mach Punch!"

"Lucha?" Hawlucha gasped out, looking up as Infernape screeched, pulling back his fist. The Flame Pokemon screeched once more, and then began to run.

It was almost like it was in slow motion. Serena only realized that something was wrong when she could see Hawlucha's eyes glance left. Her own eyes widened as she saw the little blue shape jumping onto the field, sliding in front of Hawlucha and raising its arms up in preparation to fight. She could see Ash starting to run forward, knowing it would be too late, and hearing Flint calling back the attack, while Infernape's momentum kept him going forward.

"HawwwLUCHA!"

Serena had never seen a Pokemon move so fast. Hawlucha's clawed hand whipped forward, grabbing the startled Riolu, before pulling him back and spinning himself forward so that his back was facing the incoming Infernape. Then, just as Infernape's fist was about to hit, Hawlucha's cape-like wings spread out, glowing as he shielded Riolu.

When Infernape's fist hit, it almost sounded like a metal pot being hit. The Flame Pokemon quickly pulled back, looking stunned about what had just happened. Ash and Flint both rushed forward, along with Clemont who hadn't bothered making a call, as Hawlucha fell to the ground.

Serena decided to make her way forward as well, seeing Agatha doing so as well, and hearing Absol following along behind her. When she made it to Ash's side, seeing Riolu now in his arms, she sighed in relief, seeing that the baby Pokemon was unharmed. Her eyes then went to Hawlucha, seeing him wincing, but looking relatively okay. She even noticed him glance towards Infernape, as though willing to continue the battle, before he too looked towards Riolu in concern.

"Wow, that was definitely a close one," Flint said, looking the most relieved out of any of them.

"Yeah," Ash nodded, looking down at Riolu. "Riolu, why'd you do that? You could've gotten hurt."

"Ruru!" Riolu answered, squirming out of Ash's arms and standing next to Hawlucha, who was now being held up with the help of Agatha's cane. "Ru! Ru! Ru!" he shouted out, each shout signalling a different pose. It was very similar to how Rowlet had acted when he'd met Hawlucha before the IPL tryouts.

"Looks like Hawlucha's got himself a little brother," Agatha said, chuckling. "You know, Ash, I think Hawlucha just learned Steel Wing, there. I guess he was so focused on protecting Riolu that he knew he needed to do something...new."

"Great job, Hawlucha!" Ash congratulated the fighting type, reaching out and giving him a fist bump. Riolu immediately reached his own fist forward at that. Hawlucha, who looked oddly comfortable with his big brother role, gave the young fighting type a fist bump as well, apparently making Riolu's day with the way he looked afterwards.

 _Well,_ Serena thought, looking between Riolu and Hawlucha, _so far, it looks like Riolu's going to be a battler._ However, she couldn't help but smile as the two fighting types started showing off poses to each other. _At least the battler he admires is somewhat of a Performer._

 **Author's Note:**

This was kind of a weird chapter. Different parts were written at different times over the last three months, so it's kind of hard to keep things all together in my head. Hopefully it went along all right, though. Hopefully a little of Anton's back story is interesting, at least in seeing a little of the similarities and differences with him and Ash. At some point we'll be getting Gabby's as well.

As for Riolu, I know some people figured that one out and have been pretty excited, while others...don't like the idea. I'm thinking both sides are thinking Aura will be playing a part. Well...not so much. Basically, I just picked Riolu since it's a personal favourite. I admit, I considered Poliwag, but that just seemed too obvious. As for Aura...I guess you could say that the dream was Riolu's Aura calling out to Ash and Serena, but really, that's as far as it'll go. There might be something similar to that later on, but nothing like GCTO.

Nothing else I can think of to say. Hopefully not everyone has left, and for those who haven't, hopefully you'll stick around and enjoy what's to come.


	31. Absol-ute Recovery

**Author's Note:**

Hi all. Yep, long time no update again. I'm not going to bother with explaining it...just a hell of a month. Hopefully on the right track now...but I've said that before. Thanks for the patience, though.

Anyways, a couple of questions about the last few chapters. Just wanted to clarify how I'm thinking when it comes to some of these battles. First of all, Pikachu's loss a few chapters ago. Won't get into whether or not it should have happened, but the idea was Ash not fighting in his right frame of mind, which to me affects the Pokemon's success over something like a power level. However, I made sure Pikachu was hit by a few Metal Sound attacks before that Zap Cannon. He was left very vulnerable. So...this is all part of the reason for a relatively quick turnaround when it came to the battle with Flint, despite Hawlucha being less of an "ace" for Ash. Ash was more prepared, fighting on his terms. And the battle was barely started. Hawlucha had a strong showing, but wasn't necessarily going to win.

Hope that clears some stuff up. On to the chapter.

 **Chapter 31: Absol-ute Recovery**

Ash could barely sit still as he, Pikachu, Serena and Riolu sat at the back of Reggie's class, anxiously waiting for his lesson to finish. Clemont was with them as well, but he seemed fairly busy trying to control the squirming Skitty, who clearly wanted to be back with Shauna at the moment. Ash felt bad for his friend as he glanced at the Kitten Pokemon attempting to claw her caretaker's hands, thinking of how difficult it had been to separate her from Shauna that morning. Of course, it wasn't like Riolu had been easy to handle so far, but at least he seemed quite fond of both Ash and Serena.

Ash turned his gaze to the baby Aura Pokemon, who was staring around the classroom curiously, looking at the various pictures, notes and Pokemon breeder equipment everywhere. Ash could see that Riolu's body was tensed up, and knew he had to be ready in case the curious Pokemon ran off again. The past week had definitely not been a walk in the park with his desire to see...everything. The only ones who were capable of keeping him back seemed to be Absol and Hawlucha.

The thought of Hawlucha brought Ash's thoughts back to his interrupted battle with Flint. It was definitely fortunate that Hawlucha had been so quick to act, despite already having taken a few hard blows from Infernape and being fairly worn down. Although Ash was fairly sure that battle could have still gone on a little longer, as it had only just seemed to be heating up when Riolu had jumped onto the field. He wasn't too upset by it, however. In fact, he had been happy enough to get a taste of his regular feel for battling. He may not have been quite on Flint's level, but he was seeing things far more clearly, understanding the opponent, rather than fearing and over analyzing himself, and understanding Hawlucha, rather than worrying how Infernape might control the battle.

Ash knew he still needed to be sharper, more prepared and more assertive in his battles as he often had been before. Alain, Anton, Sumato...they were all skilled trainers, but, as Dawn would say, there was "no need to worry." He just needed to approach things the way he always did. Pikachu and the others were always stronger when he and them were on the same page, doing what they loved. And Riolu would be no different. Whether he went down the path of performing with Serena, or battling with Ash, he'd learn to be one with his trainer.

"And essentially, that's how Phione are bred. Make sure to remember that, because it will be on the written exam." Ash nearly stood up from his seat, suddenly realizing he hadn't heard anything in the past few minutes. He looked up at Reggie nervously, relieved to see that he hadn't noticed. However, a quick glance in Serena's direction showed that she had, as she was giving an exasperated shake of her head, while Pikachu sighed, staring up at his trainer from the desk.

Ash then focused on Reggie carefully, ready to listen to every word he could, before noticing everyone packing up their bags as Reggie went to sit behind his desk. "Um...Serena? Uhhh...?"

"We're picking what we're going to have Riolu do for the exam, remember?" she answered, patting the baby Pokemon gently. "You sure you're still okay with the Performance?"

"Oh...right," Ash quickly rubbed his eyes, trying to get his focus back. It didn't matter how well he felt back in battle if he couldn't focus on the outside world at the moment. "Yeah, sure. I mean, he seems to have enjoyed watching you practice, and considering the whole thing with Flint, I wouldn't want him to overdo it."

"Rururu!" Riolu cheered, obviously willing to do whatever his trainers thought was best. He certainly hadn't been hard to please thus far.

"Well...if you say so," Serena said, seeming hesitant. "I'm happy with battling too, you know."

Ash smiled, knowing Serena clearly preferred the Performance. Not that he thought she wouldn't be able to handle herself with the battle, but this seemed like the best option for everyone for the time being. Besides, it worked out well with what Agatha, Flint and Fantina wanted them to work on. Ash had a feeling he'd be able to learn a lot by creating a routine with Serena and Riolu. "Let's just make sure we do our best and let Riolu enjoy it."

Serena was silent a moment, before her own smile came to her face. "Of course," she assured him, while Riolu gave another little cheer.

They waited a couple of minutes as Reggie called up a few students to get their requests for what they'd like to do with their own Pokemon. Ash saw Clemont go up to Reggie's desk, Skitty finally staying still within his arms. Surprisingly, Shauna and he had decided to try a Contest battle, seeing it as a good halfway point between their respective fields. Ash was definitely looking forward to seeing how that played out. Those two had some pretty well trained Pokemon, so he knew they'd be able to pull something good off.

A couple of people were called up after Clemont, and then finally, Reggie looked over to Ash, Serena and Riolu and called them over. "Well, congratulations you two. It took awhile, but it looks like everything went okay with Riolu's hatching."

"Yeah," Ash agreed happily, as Riolu stared curiously at Reggie. "He hatched when we got back from Shalour City. Did you hear what almost happened with Flint's Infernape?"

"I did," Reggie nodded, leaning forward to look at Riolu, before gently patting his head. "Good thing your Hawlucha acted so quickly. I expected this one to be pretty hyperactive, but not that much."

"I think he's just curious about everything," Serena pointed out. "He really likes exploring and watching everybody train."

Reggie nodded, silently looking over Riolu as Serena spoke. "Well there's nothing wrong with curiosity. Just be careful, okay Riolu?" Ash was surprised to see the Aura Pokemon give Reggie a serious look as he nodded. "So," Reggie continued, "have you two decided what you and Riolu will be doing for the exam?"

"Yeah," Ash said excitedly, looking up at Pikachu on his shoulder, the electric mouse smiling. "We're gonna try doing the Performance."

Reggie raised an eyebrow at that, looking at Serena for confirmation. "Riolu seems interested, and Agatha and Flint have encouraged the Battle Team to try some different ways of working with their Pokemon," she said, shrugging.

"Well in that case, good luck to the three of you," Reggie said, noting down their choice. "And just so you know, you will be permitted to use one other Pokemon in the Performance to help out."

With that, Reggie sent them off, and Ash, Serena and the two Pokemon made their way out of the room and out of the building. It was somewhat chilly outside, and it suddenly hit Ash how close they were getting towards the end of the first semester and their Winter break. Once their match with Coumarine was over in a couple of weeks, they'd be starting exams soon after, and then he'd be off to Kanto for the break. He was looking forward to seeing his mom, Professor Oak and all his Pokemon. He would miss his friends, though, even if it wasn't for long.

"Brrr...it's getting cold," Serena noted, a gust of wind blowing over the two of them.

"I thought Snowbelle City was the only cold place in Kalos," Ash said jokingly as they started walking. "I don't usually see too much cold weather when I'm travelling. I guess I avoid it pretty well unless I'm in the north."

"The weather's is fairly consistent in Kalos, but we get a little bit of Winter weather around here this time," Serena explained. "I've never actually been in Lumiose City to see it when there's some snow, though, so that will be nice. Maybe Clemont can get us to the top of Prism Tower to see the view."

Ash nodded, quickly glancing around to see if Clemont was around. He supposed the inventor had made sure to set off to get Skitty back to Shauna as quick as possible. It was too bad, since Ash had been hoping to train with him a bit before their practice with Agatha and Flint later on. That made him think of an idea, though. "Hey Serena, you wanna have a battle? It might be a good way to get Riolu to see some differences in how you work with your Pokemon. We have a bit of time before our next classes."

"Oh..." Serena looked away, appearing a little disappointed. "Well, Nurse Joy wanted me to come by for an update about Absol, so I was going to head over to the Pokemon Centre quickly. Maybe if we have some time after that, sure."

"Okay, cool. I'll go with you. I was planning to get the team a quick checkup today anyways." Serena seemed happy with that, so they set off at a quicker pace, eager to make as much of their time as possible.

It didn't take too long to get to the Pokemon Centre. The streets were fairly empty, so their path was fairly clear. When they arrived, Ash quickly noticed Marie heading in through the front entrance and called out to her. She looked quite excited about something, but waited, smiling at Ash and Serena as they approached, her Happiny staring at them from her arms.

"You're here about Absol, right Serena?" Marie asked, stepping forward to pet both Pikachu and Riolu, the latter now being held by Serena. Marie had a glint in her eyes like she knew something was up, but Ash didn't comment, having a feeling it was something better left until they got inside.

Serena nodded, also apparently deciding to wait for answers, and the three of them made their way inside. Nurse Joy was at the front desk, and she looked up as they approached, exchanging a knowing smile with Marie. "Hello you three," she greeted them, noticing Ash with his pokeballs in hand and signalling her Wigglytuff to bring over a tray. "It's a big day today, Serena," she added, looking over at the honey-blonde Performer as Pikachu hopped onto the cart Wigglytuff brought over, Serena placing Riolu next to him. "Would you like to see Absol? We've got some news."

"Sure," Serena said, looking a little excited, but also a bit nervous like she didn't want to keep her hopes up. Ash placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her an encouraging smile, though, and she took a deep breath as Nurse Joy led them through to the back.

Wigglytuff led the way putting Ash's pokeballs into a machine with all kinds of weird lights, Marie helping out with Pikachu and Riolu. Nurse Joy then called Serena and Ash over towards the room that Absol had spent much of the last couple of months in. And when they entered the room, Ash could immediately tell something good was happening. Sitting near the door, looking more happy than he'd ever looked before, was Absol. Somehow, the joy in his eyes made him look even healthier than his standard recovery had made him look. Ash could already tell what the good news was, and he looked towards Nurse Joy, waiting excitedly for her to tell Serena.

"I must admit, Serena, hearing about Absol's incident in Shalour City was concerning. I was almost certain that it would have led to a setback." Nurse Joy gave Absol a stern, but also somewhat sympathetic look. "It was dangerous to run off on your own, Absol. I know you were scared, but to truly recover, you will need to face fears that prevent you from overcoming your past."

"It was a little overwhelming for him with all the people and noises at the match," Serena pointed out. "I'm sorry, I should have thought about that. It might've been too soon for him to come with us, but still, I think we all learned a lot from it."

Nurse Joy paused, looking at Absol thoughtfully before continuing. "It may have been better to take a few more precautions, yes, but Absol, I think it was good for you to get out into the world. You and Serena have definitely been watching a lot of those performances on TV, so getting to see them for real was a good experience. I understand that it was a little too much all at once, though." She took a deep breath then, and looked at Serena. "That's part of why I wanted you to come today, Serena."

Serena glanced at Ash, who shrugged, curious himself as to what Nurse Joy was getting at exactly. "What do you mean?" Serena finally asked, looking over at Absol, before returning her gaze to Nurse Joy.

"Absol's ready, Serena," Joy finally said, smiling at the stunned look on Serena's face. "I've wanted to be overly cautious with him, due to severity of his injuries when he first arrived, but under your care, he's recovered to the point where, although he might never be as strong as before his ordeal, he can live as normal a life as possible. And in this case, living that normal life, I think, should involve being with a trainer, a loving trainer, that can help him stay active, healthy and work towards a dream." At this, Absol made his way over to Serena, standing by her side, looking up at her with a determined expression. "His physical injuries aren't enough to hold him back, and with you Serena, his mental injuries can heal."

Ash watched this all in silence, surprised at the confidence Nurse Joy was showing in Serena. He supposed he didn't really get how much Serena had been focusing on Absol the last couple months. He'd been in his own foggy state. Now, though, he could really see it. Absol looked at Serena in a way that it had seemed he would never look at another human again. Those hunters had broken him, and Serena had so nearly fixed him. But whatever had caused him to run away during her Performance in Shalour City, they needed to overcome that problem together. And, it seemed that Absol knew it. He trusted Serena to show him the beauty of a world that had been so cruel to him.

Serena finally knelt down, looking Absol in the eyes, finally smiling that smile she could bring to anyone's face during her performances. She slowly reached into her bag, bringing out a pokeball and carefully holding it out to Absol. "Absol," she started, sounding a little unsure now, despite her smile, "do you...do you want to work together? Do you want to perform together, and make the world a happier place?"

The Disaster Pokemon clearly didn't see _this_ as a disaster. He was full of hope for the first time in a very long time. He raised his paw, not needing to make any noise or signal of acceptance, except for one thing. He pressed his paw to the pokeball, the capture device immediately opening up as a red beam of light engulfed Absol. In seconds, the red energy was pulled back into the pokeball, which closed immediately, shaking once before a soft _ding_ signalled that Serena had herself a new Pokemon. She quickly stood up, staring in shock at the pokeball, before finally holding it up in excitement.

"I caught an Absol!"

* * *

"Piplup, finish off with Ice Beam and Bubble Beam!" Dawn yelled, jumping into the air as she called out the order.

The Penguin Pokemon seemed to mimic his trainer's actions, jumping up just as his opponent, a speedy little Growlithe, sent a scorching Flamethrower underneath him. He easily avoided the flames and then opened his beak wide, sending the icy beam of energy down towards the fire type. Dawn's opponent, a girl with hair as bright orange as her Growlithe's fur, called out for a dodge. Dawn smirked, having expected just that, and knowing Piplup knew what to do.

"Piiipluuup!" Piplup screeched, landing on the ground as Growlithe slid to the side, the ice forming on the ground in front of Piplup. The Penguin Pokemon then launched himself forward, hitting the ice and sliding as he faced a stunned looking Growlithe. He opened his beak once again and unleashed a barrage of bubbles, each slamming all across Growlithe as Piplup slid by.

As Dawn's loyal partner Pokemon came to a stop, Growlithe staggering back from its own position, a buzzer went to her right, near where Tierno and Trevor were standing, watching the match with excitement. The little scoreboard, a Clembot-style computer judging the battle, on the small training field they were on showed a dominant result for Dawn, with her opponent down to zero points, while she still held over three quarters of her own.

"Yeah! Way to move and groove Dawn and Piplup!" Tierno cheered, as the orange-haired girl returned her Pokemon, calling out a congratulations to Dawn before making her way off the field and out of the training facilities.

Dawn grinned at her friends, kneeling down and high fiving Piplup as he came back to her. "Would one of you two like to battle?" she asked the two boys. She was feeling pretty good now, having won three matches in a row, and still with plenty of time to train before her next class, she wanted to keep going.

Tierno looked like he was about to accept her challenge, clearly interested in seeing if he could repeat his success against her that he had during the tryouts for the IPL, but surprisingly, Trevor was quick to speak up. "I'd like to try out a Contest battle," he said, pulling out a pokeball, glancing at Tierno quickly and then back at Dawn. "I'd like to see if a few things I've been working on with Charizard that Flint has helped me out with might work."

Dawn nodded, gesturing for Trevor to take his place on the opposite side of the field. She could see that Tierno was anxious to get to training as well, but it seemed both of them were curious to see what Trevor might have in store. Dawn hadn't seen him battle that much, but his IPL performances had been less than impressive, even considering that none of them had managed to pull out a win. His efforts in the tryouts had seemed to be fairly impressive, though, so she knew he could at least be a threat if she didn't have her guard up. And fighting a Charizard, even if Trevor wasn't likely to mega evolve it, would be an interesting challenge for sure.

When Trevor finally took his place on the other end of the battlefield, he pulled out Charizard's pokeball, looking a little nervous as his other hand fiddled with the camera around his neck. "Don't go easy on me, okay Dawn. If Charizard and I are going to learn anything from this, it'll be with you at your best." With that, he threw out his pokeball, his Charizard emerging with a roar in a flash of light, hitting the ground with a thud.

Dawn took a deep breath, surprised at the determined look in the Flame Pokemon's eyes. That extra work with Flint certainly seemed to be giving it some confidence. "This definitely won't be easy, Trevor," Dawn assured him, smirking as she pulled out her next pokeball, Piplup taking his place at her side. "Quilava! Spoootttlight!" she yelled, tossing the pokeball into the air, where it burst open, Quilava emerging and rolling through the air, before landing on the ground and spinning to face the much larger fire type in front of him.

"Watch out for Quilava's speed, Trevor!" Tierno called out, obviously deciding he was going to try and coach Trevor through this. "Charizard's strong, but that won't always win the match for you in a Contest Battle."

Dawn narrowed her eyes at that. She knew she needed to strengthen up her Pokemon, despite what Tierno was saying. They'd been overwhelmed a few times lately, including in their match against Tierno. Perhaps battling Trevor's Charizard was a good start in making sure she was ready for anything.

Both Dawn and Trevor waited a moment as Tierno set up the timer on the scoreboard, and as he prepared to get it started, both they and their Pokemon tensed up, ready to battle. Dawn could see a few other Lumiose students gathering near their battlefield, noticing the match about to start, but ignored them, only wanting to focus on the battle. In this case, Tierno was right. Quilava's speed would be an advantage, but she'd have to be careful. Trevor clearly had a few things he was going to try out.

 _Ding!_

"Charizard, start this off with Dragon Claw!" Trevor ordered immediately, pointing ahead as the Flame Pokemon flapped his wings, bringing his claws up just before he charged forward.

"Quilava, Smokescreen! Then out of the way with Flame Wheel!" Dawn countered, smirking as she noticed Trevor's immediate strategy with this battle. Like Ash, he was hoping for a quick, in close strike to get the momentum on his side.

"Lavaaa!" Quilava cried out, flames covering his body as he sent thick, black smoke between him and Charizard, before sending himself within it, rolling through with Flame Wheel. Dawn narrowed her eyes, watching Charizard quickly fly up, hovering above the smoke, proving more cautious than she thought, not charging into the smoke. She glanced over at the scoreboard, seeing Trevor's points had dropped a bit from Quilava's quick evasion, but she knew she'd have to make the next move, as Quilava had to act before the smoke cleared.

"Quilava, Swift! Let's go!" she commanded, watching Trevor for a reaction. Then, as the golden stars started shooting up out of the smoke, the first few striking Charizard in the chest before he flew out of the way, Dawn could see him smirk.

Trevor's points dropped a little more, putting him down to about eighty percent of his counter, but clearly he wasn't bothered with that, as he quickly called out his next order. "Charizard, Fire Spin! Surround the smoke!"

The smoke was clearing as the swirling flames hit the ground, but Trevor's plan seemed to have worked, the flames blocking Dawn's view of Quilava, and leaving the Volcano Pokemon vulnerable with the smoke cleared. She saw her points drop a bit, and she smiled, glad to see Trevor was proving more than just a battler, and also capable of Contest-style strategy.

Charizard roared loudly, and suddenly launched himself down, just as Trevor pointed ahead and made his next order. "Dragon Tail! Use it to hold onto Quilava!" Dawn's eyes widened at that, but she couldn't see through the flames, her eyes watering a bit from the heat. All she noticed was a green glow, before hearing Quilava shout out in surprise, before Charizard burst through the flames and into the air, his Fire Spin withering underneath him. His tail was now wrapped around Quilava, who looked stunned and quite scared to be in the air. "Now spin and use Fire Spin around yourself!"

Another roar from the Flame Pokemon and he began to act, opening his jaws wide, the flames immediately bursting forth. He spun like a drill, keeping his glowing tail wrapped tightly around Quilava, who Dawn noticed just seemed to be holding on for dear life. The flames suddenly began swirling around the two fire types in midair, spinning ever faster from Charizard's efforts. The little green glow from his tail appeared like a green ring at the top of the spinning column of flames.

Dawn clenched her fists, hearing Piplup murmuring in concern for his friend in the air. She was not going to let Trevor take over this battle that easily. This was her stage. Maybe Trevor was stronger in a traditional battle, and that was helping him overwhelm her a little, but she could overwhelm him as well. She still wanted to be a Top Coordinator, and if that was the case, she'd have to get herself out of jams like this, whether it was against Trevor, Dusk, Casey, Tierno, whoever.

She glanced again at the scoreboard, seeing her points drop slightly below Trevor's, and she knew she had to make a move. "Quilava, use Swift!" she yelled, knowing it likely wouldn't do much to Charizard, but knowing it would get her the momentum she needed and move the pieces in place.

"La...va!" Quilava seemed to cough out, struggling against Charizard's hold on him, but still, somehow, managing to release a stream of golden stars that battered against the spinning flames, exploding into golden sparkles that broke through the Fire Spin and surrounded the flames.

"Whoooaaa! Nice one, Dawn!" Tierno shouted, looking up in amazement at the successful Fire Spin disruption. "Better watch out, Trevor."

Dawn could also hear a few of the watching students commenting on her move, noticing the crowd had gotten a little larger with her and Trevor's battle seeming to step up in intensity. Not that it mattered to her at the moment. She was enjoying this, and was ready to see just what else Trevor could do.

"Now Quilava, Flame Wheel and spin yourself out of there!" Dawn shouted, feeling her confidence growing. As Quilava's body was engulfed in flames and he began to struggle against Charizard's hold, Dawn caught sight of the doors opening at the other end of the training facilities, seeing Ash, Serena and Marie entering, the latter spotting the battle and urging the group to make their way over.

"Quilavaaa!" Quilava suddenly shouted out, snapping Dawn's attention back to the air. The Volcano Pokemon was squirming his way out of Charizard's hold, both of them in almost a standstill as they fought midair. Finally, though, Quilava broke through, sliding past Charizard's curled, glowing green tail and spinning back towards the ground, looking like a ball of flames.

When the Volcano Pokemon hit the ground, he skidded backwards, sliding backwards towards Dawn as he dodged a quick Heatwave attack ordered by Trevor. Dawn narrowed her eyes, seeing Charizard closer to the ground, preparing another Fire Spin as Trevor tried to increase the pace of the battle, falling into the trap that many standard battlers did in Contest battles. It was only a matter of time now, and Dawn knew just what to do to frustrate Trevor even more.

"Quilava, spin and use Swift! Counter Shield!"

"Lava!" Quilava shouted out happily, clearly enjoying himself now that he was free of Charizard's hold. He spun quickly, sending the golden stars up to clash with the incoming Fire Spin in a swirling golden spiral. The attacks collided with golden, red and orange sparks shooting out like fireworks and raining down on field. Quilava came to a stop and stared up at his opponent, ready for the next stage of the battle.

"Now, Flamethrower, full power!" Dawn ordered, hoping to draw Trevor in one more time.

He quickly fell for her trap, pointing forward and ordering a Heatwave attack straight down to meet Quilava's Flamethrower head on. Charizard roared loudly, flapping his wings and buffeting those below with a small gust of wind. Then, he and Quilava sent their fiery attacks towards one another, the two meeting midair, creating a scorching heat around the battlefield.

"Now-"

"Stop and use Dragon Claw!" Trevor acted quickly, surprising Dawn with his quick move. Charizard was just as fast, ending his attack and swooping down past Quilava's flames and striking him with a glowing green claw, sending the Volcano Pokemon flying back. "Trap it with Dragon Tail, one more time!"

"Smokescreen!" Dawn ordered quickly, but it was no use, as Trevor was quick to order a hard flap of Charizard's wings to clear the smoke, getting a gasp from the growing crowd. Tierno seemed the most shocked and excited, complimenting Trevor's "great sense of rhythm". Dawn wasn't done yet, though, knowing she needed to act quick to keep Quilava at a distance. "Roll over him with Flame Wheel!"

"Quil quilava!" Quilava's movement was impressive, the flames shooting up around him as he leaped forward to engage Charizard, who approached quickly with his glowing green tail. The Volcano Pokemon timed it perfectly, narrowly rolling past Charizard's tail and then up over the Flame Pokemon's head.

"And now Swift!" Dawn ordered, knowing she had the match now.

With Charizard's back turned to Quilava, stumbling forward from his missed attack, the finisher was easy. Still in midair, Quilava sent the golden stars raining down on Charizard's back, causing the larger fire type to slam into the ground with a thud.

 _Bzzz!_ Dawn pumped her fist, looking over at the scoreboard and seeing Trevor's points drop to zero, and her own counter at about forty percent. She knew it was a closer match then that, though, and looked at Charizard, wondering just what it could be capable of after a bit more training.

After some applause for the battle, the crowd began to disperse, heading off to train on their own or watch other battles going on. Dawn just sighed in relief, glad that she'd been able to pull out the win. She'd been struggling far too much against more direct battlers lately. It felt good to control the flow of a Contest battle a little more like that.

She smiled as Quilava came rushing towards her, looking ecstatic about his victory over the more intimidating fire type. Dawn wasn't so sure how the match would've played out if it was a regular battle, but she was definitely impressed with her fire type's performance. He'd been in top form for this battle.

"Hey guys, great battle!" Ash's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts, and Dawn looked up to see him and the others making their way towards her, Trevor checking on Charizard off to the side with Tierno. "Too bad we didn't see all of it, but wow, looks like Quilava and Charizard are a lot stronger," he commented, Quilava straightening up at his praise, looking quite proud.

"Yeah, some of those moves were really beautiful, Dawn!" Serena said excitedly, admiration in her eyes. "I'd really like to learn how to pull off moves like that during a battle. Even for a regular Performance, I could probably use some of those techniques."

"Sure, I'd love to practice more with you," Dawn said cheerfully, Piplup nodding next to her. She then glanced behind Serena, looking around for her now often present companion in Absol, only seeing Riolu at her side, between her and Ash. "Hey, where's Absol? Is he doing okay?" she asked, directing the second question towards Marie.

The young Joy smiled, a knowing look in her eyes as she nodded towards Serena. "I think Serena's got something to show you guys," she said, catching the attention of Trevor and Tierno who made their way over, the former recalling Charizard back to his pokeball.

Dawn glanced at Ash curiously, wondering if he knew what was up, but he just smiled, waiting for Serena to speak up. "Well," the Performer started, looking a little nervous as her friends stared at her, "Nurse Joy...she had some good news today." She paused, opening her bag and reaching inside. "It's not going to be easy, but she says that he can start training with me." With that, Dawn knew exactly what Serena was talking about, and a huge smile came to her face as the Performer took out a pokeball and held it up. "Say hi to the newest member of the team...officially."

The pokeball then opened up, a light flashing brightly as Absol emerged in front of his new trainer, standing taller and prouder than he'd ever looked since he'd arrived here in Lumiose City. Dawn and the others looked on in shock for a moment. Of course, she'd expected Absol would eventually join Serena's team, but to think of how far he'd come and for him to already be in a position to officially be a part of her team, it was truly remarkable.

"Wow Serena, that's great!" Trevor exclaimed, holding up his camera and taking a quick picture of Absol, which the latter fortunately seemed okay with. "So you can start working on performances together."

"That's the plan," Serena answered, kneeling down next to Absol and putting her arm around him. "Nurse Joy says it will be good to keep him active now, and expose him to more people and Pokemon in a safe way."

"This is so awesome!" Dawn almost shouted, remembering the little taste of Absol's performing skills he'd demonstrated back when he'd slipped out of the Pokemon Centre to follow Serena. It was definitely going to be interesting to see what he could do after some training. "We've got some time left before our next class, so how about you two try some things out?"

There were some murmurs of agreement from the others, including an excited cheer from Riolu, and Serena and Absol exchanged a glance, both knowing they couldn't resist their first chance to truly train together. "What do you say, Absol?" Serena asked, standing up and looking at the Disaster Pokemon.

"Sol!" Absol answered confidently, stretching out both of his back legs, wincing a little as though still a little nervous about them, but seeming all right, except for looking a little bit stiff. He was ready to go, though and trotted over to the middle of the battlefield, which would be his makeshift stage for the time being. He clearly wanted to give this a try as soon as possible.

Dawn and the others then made their way off the field, standing at the sidelines and looking up excitedly as Serena approached the middle. She pulled out another pokeball, calling out Braixen to join Absol on the stage. Dawn knew that was a good choice, with Braixen's experience sure to be a help to Absol.

"Braixen," Serena said to her partner Pokemon, straightening up as she prepared to start a small routine, "let's start slow for Absol, okay? We want to teach him everything we know, but it'll take a bit of practice, so we need to help him out as much as we can. I know you're the best one to join me in doing that."

"Braixen brai!" Braixen agreed happily, smiling over at her newest teammate, plucking her branch-wand from her tail as she got ready. Absol gave her a small nod of appreciation, but he definitely seemed more interested in getting things started. Dawn just hoped he wasn't too eager.

"All right then," Serena called, her voice shaking a little with nervous energy. Dawn didn't blame her. Working with a new Pokemon could always be a challenge, but this was definitely a unique case. "Braixen, start off with Flamethrower! Jump back and aim up. We'll try something you and Pancham have done a few times. Absol, you use Dark Pulse, and aim for the same spot."

"Sen!" Braixen shouted, flipping back gracefully and aiming her wand upwards. A streak of flames shot out quickly, slicing into the air and bathing the stage in a warm, orange glow.

Dawn immediately turned her attention to Absol, though, curious to see his first bit of action. He hesitated a moment, seemingly considering trying to leap back like Braixen, but deciding to just take a few slow steps instead, before aiming upwards and sending his swirling purple and black jet of energy towards Braixen's flames.

Everyone gasped at the strength of the attack, the effort Absol put into it quite evident. Unfortunately, it didn't pull off the elegance that Serena must have intended, the Dark Pulse slicing through Braixen's Flamethrower and extinguishing it on contact, their combination ending as quickly as it started. For a moment, the three on the stage were quiet, staring at the failed attempt, a few wisps of smoke in the air, until Serena looked over at the disappointed Absol.

"Don't worry, Absol, it was just your first try. Let's try a couple more times."

They ended up trying about six times, along with a double attempt as Absol, growing more frustrated with each attempt, missed Braixen's flames and nearly struck the lights on the ceiling before sending a much weaker shot that simply didn't reach the flames at all. Each attempt seemed like Absol was trying to fix what went wrong with the previous one, resulting in more and more confusion and frustration on his part. His attacks would miss, be too powerful, be too weak, or simply look too simple. Dawn had no idea why it was seeming so difficult for him, considering the small display he'd given in the theatre the day he'd first shown interest in performing. However, while it seemed frustrating for him, and could have been for Serena and Braixen, they kept trying, Serena continually supporting Absol's attempts and not losing patience once.

"Just take it easy, Absol," Serena urged gently, as Absol sent a frustrated Psycho Cut to the ground. "Here, just watch how Pancham does it."

With that, she quickly called out the Playful Pokemon, explaining to him what they were doing, and calling for the Dark Pulse and Flamethrower combination again. Pancham wasted no time in pulling it off perfectly with Braixen, first joining her in creating a shower of purple and red dust that sprinkled the stage, shining in the bright lights of the training facilities, and then making the attacks swirl around each other, as if dancing upwards like they had a life of their own.

Absol watched each combination carefully, studying both Pancham's and Braixen's movements, clearly eager to succeed in his next attempt. Unfortunately, once again on his first try, he overpowered Braixen's flames, extinguishing them on contact. He growled in frustration, pawing at the ground like he wanted to fight with his own attacks somehow.

"Maybe Absol's gotta approach performing a little differently," Ash spoke up, only heard by those at the sidelines, as Serena had Pancham demonstrate for Absol again. "His style might be different. He's got a bit more of a fighting spirit, so maybe his power needs to be expressed more."

Dawn thought on that for a second, her brief battle with Trevor playing through her mind. While she'd managed to eventually control that match, Trevor had certainly made things difficult for her, and it hadn't simply been Charizard's brute strength. Trevor had managed to express Charizard's strength through some unique combinations, trapping Quilava and forcing Dawn to go on the defensive. It hadn't been quite like a standard battle, but it was a way for him to put the match more on his and Charizard's level. If she understood what Ash was saying, he thought Serena needed to make the Performance fit Absol, and not make Absol fit the Performance.

The sound of footsteps behind them had Dawn turn around, and she was surprised to see Fantina approaching, looking pleased to see the group hard at work, or at least supporting Serena in her hard work. Ash and the others soon noticed the Hearthrome Gym Leader, also looking surprised to see her around the training facilities at this time. Before they could say anything, though, she spoke up, looking at Ash briefly before resting her gaze back on Serena, who was now explaining how Pancham controlled his Dark Pulse, although not seeming like she truly knew how to.

"Oui, I believe you are right, Ash," Fantina murmured, smiling as Absol again tried to emulate Pancham and failed. "Zat Absol has proven itself a feisty battler, even if he has not been fighting a traditional battle. Zer is definitely great strength within him."

"Fantina?" Ash asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I was at ze Pokemon Centre," she explained, watching Absol's next failed attempt. "Nurse Joy let me know zat you were coming here to train with Absol. I was curious to see how he looked. It seems he's as much a battler as most of your Pokemon are, Ash."

"Do you think he can use that in a Performance, though?" Dawn asked, trying to think of how she might use Absol in something like an Appeals Round. "His style seems to be different from Serena's, even though he seems to admire how she and her other Pokemon work together."

"It's like two dancers out of sync," Tierno pointed out, sounding surprisingly serious with the remark.

"Perhaps Serena just needs to understand Absol's spirit in a different setting," Fantina suggested. "She has been so focused on his healing, zat she sees him as more delicate than he truly is. Ze battle spirit is strong in him, however, and for ze two of them to move forward, zey must bring it out. I think it will prove useful in zer future performances."

"You think Absol needs to battle?" Ash asked, looking dumbfounded. Dawn had to admit it seemed a little strange, too. Absol had only just been cleared by Nurse Joy. On the other hand...he must've been cleared because he was ready. Even for something like this.

"Oui! You know as well as I, Monsieur Ketchum, that a battle can help a trainer and their Pokemon understand one another far better. Absol is ready. He just needs to believe it, along with his trainer." With that, Fantina stepped forward, calling out to Serena, the latter looking up in surprise as the Hearthrome Gym Leader stepped up onto the battlefield (as Dawn was fairly sure it wasn't a stage anymore). "Madame Serena," Fantina called cheerfully, "I have a little challenge for you."

* * *

"You want...to battle? Battle...Absol and me?" Serena was stunned, and definitely unsure about how to proceed. She and Absol had only been doing some harmless Performance training, with very little strain on him. She wasn't very interested in risking him hurting himself in a battle. Particularly against a strong opponent like Fantina.

"Oui," her Performance coach replied. "I understand your concerns, but from what Nurse Joy has told me, Absol is physically recovered. He may not be at full strength, but he should be capable of fighting in a training battle at ze very least, if only to get his confidence back."

"I don't know," Serena whispered, glancing at Absol, who was watching Fantina curiously. Her eyes then went to her friends, seeing Ash look surprisingly unsure himself, clearly not knowing how safe it was, but also in agreement that a battle would be useful in helping Serena and Absol to figure out one another's styles.

"Nurse Joy knows what she's doing Serena," Marie pointed out, bringing Serena's attention to her. "If Absol thinks he can do it, he can. He can't ever fully recover without testing his strengths. He might not be the strongest he's ever been, but he's a fighter, like Fantina says."

That seemed to be enough for Ash, who nodded after a few more seconds of thought. "Absol's shown himself to be strong, Serena. He got a lot of that strength from you. Maybe you can keep that going even further."

Serena took a deep breath at that, unable to hide the smile at Ash's words. She looked once more towards Absol, seeing her newest Pokemon looking determined to see what they could pull off together. He had enough confidence to try this out, so Serena knew she needed to give him the chance, as well as herself. They were a team now, and their journey towards success might mean a few setbacks, but they had to try. "All right, Fantina. I guess...I guess I accept."

As Serena braced herself on her side of the battlefield, watching Trevor make his way to the side as the acting referee, she thought of the first day she'd seen Absol. It had definitely been a tough road to recovery, but it was remarkable how far he'd come. It made her nervous to put him into a battle so soon, but she also knew that if he'd come this far after all he'd been through, his future was wide open.

"All right," Trevor suddenly called out to both Fantina and Serena, "this will be a one on one battle between Fantina and Serena. The winner will be declared when their opponent's Pokemon is unable to battle. Do you agree?"

Serena and Fantina nodded, the latter finally calling out her Pokemon, predictably her Drifblim. Serena knew it was Fantina's best, from what Ash had told her, so it immediately had her on the defensive, ready to wait for an opportunity to strike, rather than attack head on. She held her breath as she waited for the match to begin, just hoping that Absol would be okay. Then, finally, Trevor called for the battle to start.

"Will-O-Wisp," Fantina ordered immediately, waving her hand forward as though she was a conductor.

As ready as Serena thought she was, that quick action by Fantina froze her. What was she doing? Absol couldn't do this. It was too dangerous. She wasn't a skilled enough trainer to keep him safe in a battle so soon after he'd gotten out of the Pokemon Centre. She could barely register it as Drifblim's body glowed blue, and a blue flame went flying out towards Absol.

"Sol!" the Disaster Pokemon shouted out, bringing Serena's terrified gaze towards him. She then noticed his eyes suddenly glow red, just as he slid to the side, ducking past the blue flame as it struck the ground he'd been standing on, quickly withering away.

"Awesome! Absol knows Detect, Serena! He'll be tough to hit with that!" Ash informed her. She nodded, looking at Absol's legs for any sign of pain. They still looked a little stiff, but if his quick movement said anything, he could make it work. And so could she. _Just a deep breath, Serena._

"Okay Absol, let's do this together! Dark Pulse!" Serena finally shouted, truly participating in the battle now. Absol seemed to gain further confidence in that, straightening up and the sending the dark, swirling energy quickly towards Drifblim. Fantina was quick to call a defensive strike, though, an Ominous Wind attack shooting forth in a wall, clashing with the Dark Pulse and exploding on contact.

"Now, use Will-O- Wisp again!" Fantina shouted, clearly looking to keep Serena on her toes, with no time to come up with a strategy.

"Use Detect again!" Serena countered, smiling as Absol's eyes glowed again, as he leaped over the blue flames this time, landing on his legs with no sign of discomfort. "Now-"

"Psychic! Send ze flames back!"

Serena was too stunned to act, shocked that Fantina was using a move that should have no effect. She noticed too late, however, seeing the blue glow around the flames as they suddenly came flying back towards Absol, striking the Disaster Pokemon in the side and sending him staggering to the right. For a moment, he gritted his teeth, but otherwise looked fine. Then, suddenly, flames shot up along his back, making him roar in pain.

"Absol!" Serena shouted in concern, about to call an end to the battle, almost sure they'd made a stupid mistake in doing this.

"Sol absol," the dark type called back quickly, the flames dying down as he took a deep breath. Serena was surprised, seeing that he had no interest in stopping just yet.

"You can do this, Serena!" Ash called out, Pikachu and Riolu cheering from his shoulders. "Absol's a quick thinker. He may not have his speed just yet, but he can react as fast as you do. Just know where to place your strikes and you'll be fine."

Serena sighed, knowing she had to be sharper and quicker. Just like Absol. She just tried to remember how she and Braixen had battled during the screening when they'd first arrived here at Lumiose University. Serena was obviously more used to Braixen, and understood her more, but this was still similar. Even if this was a regular battle, many of the same things applied. Most notably, the need to react faster. Something which would definitely help during a Performance if she made a mistake that needed to quickly be fixed.

She looked up, watching Drifblim hovering, waiting for Absol to make the next move, and knew Fantina was willing to be more patient now that Absol was burned. Serena knew she was at a disadvantage, but perhaps she could still make it work. "Absol, use Psycho Cut!"

"Counter it with Ominous Wind!" Fantina ordered quickly. Serena smiled at that, knowing just what to do next as Absol's horn glowed pink and he sent his first crescent shaped attack outwards. He sent a few others out, just as Drifblim's purple wind came out to clash with the projectiles, the attacks exploding on contact. However, Serena was already in action, ready to use Absol's instincts.

"Use Detect and get past Ominous Wind!"

"Sol!" The Disaster Pokemon bent low, testing his legs quickly before running forward. He wasn't fast like Pikachu, but Serena was relieved to see that his legs didn't seem to be holding him back too much. His eyes flash as he reached the purple, smokey wind, and then he leaped upwards, flipping just over the top of the attack, putting himself above a stunned Drifblim.

Serena tensed a bit, seeing him midair, but she pushed that aside, trusting that he'd be okay. "Dark Pulse! Then Psycho Cut!"

Absol already had the attacks ready, his horn glowing pink, ready with Psycho Cut as he unleashed Dark Pulse on Drifblim, who tried to evade, but was struck in the side and sent crashing to the ground. Absol then landed, wincing a little as his legs hit the ground, but ignoring it and straightening up to send Psycho Cut forward. However, just as he was unleashing the attack, flames shot up around his body, holding him in place as he grunted out in pain.

"Ominous Wind, Drifblim. Once again!" Fantina called gracefully, looking like she was enjoying the battle.

Serena winced as the eerie purple wind shot forth, striking Absol and sending him sliding backwards. He lay in front of her a moment, appearing to catch his breath, and then stood up, panting. He was determined to keep going. It was a little more stressful for her, it seemed, but she trusted Absol's instincts. She could see what he was capable of, she could understand how he moved. He wasn't at full strength just yet, but Serena could see why Fantina had proposed this battle. Absol's movements weren't quite like her own, or how her other Pokemon worked, but they could still fit a Performance. Serena just needed to adapt, similar to how she'd adjusted to Sylveon's love of dancing.

"Are you all right with continuing, Serena?" Fantina called out, looking curiously at her and Absol.

"I think so," Serena answered, smiling at Absol as he turned to look at her, eyes flashing with excitement. "We're definitely ready to continue."

And as she called her next attack, Serena knew she and Absol were already becoming a formidable team. Aria, Miette, Gabby...they would all need to watch out. And the audiences they'd be performing for, they were all in for a treat.

 **Author's Note:**

So there we have it. Absol's officially on Serena's team. I don't know if it seems too fast, but I'm kind of going by the logic that a Pokemon would heal faster than a regular animal...considering they can be beaten up by each other on a regular basis. And at this point, although still not perfect physically, Absol's focus is more on a mental recovery. Also, didn't want the full battle against Fantina, since it was more about testing a few things out for Absol.

As for the Dawn and Trevor battle, it wasn't as important, but I wanted to show a little more progress for Trevor and hint at a little thing upcoming for Dawn. Hopefully it was enjoyable.

Thanks for reading. I'll make sure the next chapter isn't too far away.


	32. A Joy-ful and Marie Day

**Author's Note:**

Look at this! It wasn't a month-long gap! We should celebrate...by reading the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 32: A Joy-ful and Marie Day**

It was a surprisingly quiet breakfast for everyone, after they all met in the dining hall of the Greninja building on another chilly day in Lumiose City. Ash could tell everyone was pretty tired, with classes getting increasingly busy over the last few days. With the last IPL match of the semester approaching, and exams following not too long after, they were all getting pretty wiped out with homework and their training sessions. Even though Ash knew Pokemon better than most people, he was increasingly confused by the idea of writing an essay on healing methods, or abilities, when he pretty much knew the basics. Of course, sometimes he found out he _didn't_ know some of the basics, often forgetting little details that he'd then get lectured on.

He didn't really want to think about that this morning, though, instead eating his breakfast and getting three bowls of Pokemon food out for Pikachu, Rowlet and Riolu, who were small enough to join them at the table. It was the only way to get Rowlet awake, which Ash had been finding difficult lately, feeling like the little grass type had been asleep for the last few weeks in his bag. Those three were soon joined by Piplup as Dawn got his food out as well.

Their quiet morning didn't last too much longer, though, as the people throughout the dining hall started murmuring to each other as the doors to the entrance opened up, a surprise visitor walking in. Ash narrowed his eyes, following the gazes of his friends as they all looked up to see Professor Sycamore making his way to the centre of the room, looking quite excited about something. It definitely wasn't usual seeing the teachers in here, and the only time they'd shown up before was when they had news about the IPL, so Ash was pretty curious as to what was going on. Especially as it seemed to be some kind of an announcement for everyone, and not just the IPL team.

"What do you guys think this is about?" Dawn asked, staring over at Sycamore as he stepped up onto a chair, saying a few words to some of the students around him.

"Must be about exams or something," Marie suggested, absentmindedly petting her Jigglypuff. "Must not be about the IPL, otherwise he'd just come over here. I hope we aren't gonna get swamped with a bunch more work."

Clemont sighed at that, looking the most tired out of all of them, as he'd been making routine trips to his gym and making sure everything was going well with Clembot. Ash had also heard Bonnie, who'd been to a couple of their training sessions, mention she'd heard Clemont on the phone a few times at their dad's house. Something about a few phone calls with Korrina. Serena and Shauna seemed to find that pretty funny for some reason.

"Attention students!" Professor Sycamore finally called out, clearly visible from his place atop the chair at the centre of the room. Ash and his friends all looked over, listening closely, each hoping they weren't about to get hit with more work. As fun as their IPL training could be, it was quite demanding. Especially with focusing on the different styles, like performing and contests.

"Pikapi," Pikachu suddenly tapped Ash's cheek with his tail, and he realized he wasn't fully paying attention as the rest of the people around him quieted down and looked up to hear what Sycamore was about to say.

"Good morning, everyone," Sycamore started, looking around the room. Ash could tell he definitely seemed excited about something, which made him a little less worried about this being something fully school related. "I hope all of your classes are going well, along with your training. I've noticed the use of the training facilities has been up lately, which is very good to see. We spared no expense in making sure they would be suitable for the best up and coming trainers in the Kalos region. And I know the IPL team will be more than ready for their final match of the semester against Coumarine College thanks to the practices they've held there. Right guys?"

Ash was about to answer, but since he'd just stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth, Dawn spoke up instead. "No need to worry, Professor Sycamore. We're more than ready!" That got a cheer from the students in the room. Luckily, despite the rough start they'd had, the students at Lumiose were still supportive, and loved hearing their team was ready for their next challenge.

Sycamore smiled as the cheers quieted down, nodding to Dawn and the others before he continued. "All right then, that's good to hear. In that case, I think you, and everyone else here, will be excited for a chance to put that confidence to the test." He paused here, waiting as a few people started whispering to each other, before quieting down once more. Ash just watched on in silence, wondering just what Sycamore could be getting at.

"So does this have something to do with the IPL after all?" Tierno asked, looking confused. He wasn't getting an answer from anyone, though, as Shauna quickly elbowed him in the ribs and pointed at Professor Sycamore, wanting everyone to pay attention.

"Over the past couple of weeks, I, along with the battle coaches for the IPL Battle Team, Agatha and Flint, have been planning a special event for this upcoming weekend. For the IPL team, this will be a special opportunity to warm yourselves up for your next challenge, the following week, but for everyone else, it will be your chance to test yourselves against the toughest trainers, on even footing. This weekend, Lumiose University will be hosting the first annual Sycamore Mega Tournament!"

The excited murmuring erupted around the dining hall as various groups of friends began discussing this sudden announcement. Ash immediately looked at Pikachu, both of them smiling confidently. This was perfect! What a great way to get himself ready for his next IPL match. He would be able to prove he was back on track. He caught Clemont looking over at him, a challenge in his eyes, and knew he was ready for a rematch following their brief battle with Rowlet and Turtwig a few weeks back.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Ash exclaimed to the group. "I've been wanting get some real battles in. Training's been fun and all, but nothing beats the real thing. You guys gonna enter?" he asked, looking at Serena and Shauna specifically. He knew Tierno and Dawn would likely enter, and given the fact that Marie was in the battling program as well, she was likely going to try, but with Serena and Shauna, he wasn't sure about their interest. However, the two of them exchanged a look, and then nodded, before smiling and assuring Ash they'd join the rest in competing.

Ash was about to say something else, but just then, Sycamore spoke up once more, the whispers dying down as he resumed speaking. "Now, this tournament will be a little unusual. However, I think it will be fair, considering the high level of many of the trainers attending this school. All trainers are welcome to participate, so long as they attend Lumiose University of course. This means battlers, coordinators and performers are all encouraged to join in on the fun. We are including a very important rule to make things a little more interesting, though. All Pokemon that have been used in official high level competitions, which include any Pokemon League conference, any Grand Festival or a Masterclass Showcase, will be prohibited from being used in this tournament. This rule will also extend to Gym Leaders, who will not be able to use Pokemon registered to their gyms. This to ensure all trainers are on even footing."

Ash stared up in shock at that announcement, before glancing down at a disappointed looking Pikachu. This meant that he was almost completely out of usable Pokemon. He supposed he could call up one of his thirty Tauros, but that didn't really make any sense, when he was most used to battling with a specific one. And he couldn't battle with Riolu, as he was clearly way too young. _I guess there's really only one option_ , he thought, eyes shifting to the right of Pikachu.

"Hoooo...kooooo...hoooo." Ash glanced at his friends, who were all whispering amongst themselves about the surprise rule, while Sycamore waited at the centre of the room once more.

"Rowlet. Rowlet, wake up!" he hissed, reaching over and picking the Grass Quill Pokemon up off the table. He gave Rowlet a gentle shake, noticing him stir a little. Finally, the little owl opened his eyes, looking up at Ash, still appearing somewhat asleep. It was good enough for his trainer, though. "Rowlet, are you willing to help me out with this tournament? You're my best chance right now."

Rowlet seemed to waken up a bit more at that, eyes opening a little wider as he stared at Ash and then turned his head around, looking at Pikachu, who looked back enviously. He must not have known exactly what he was agreeing to, but when he looked back at Ash, he didn't seem to want to let his trainer down, and he gave a little tilt of his head and hooted out his agreement.

"Awesome! Thanks, Rowlet, you're the best!" Ash said happily, turning his attention back to Professor Sycamore, who seemed to be dealing with some unhappy muttering from a few students.

"I know this will make it a little more difficult for those of you who are more experienced," he began again, looking out across the students in the dining hall. "However, remember _why_ you are here. Lumiose University is meant to allow you to develop deeper bonds with your Pokemon. And not just your old Pokemon. Use this as an opportunity to better yourselves and work with Pokemon that have yet to experience the adventures you've been fortunate to be a part of."

With that, his brief announcement seemed to be coming to an end, however, he still remained in the centre of the room, clearly with one last thing to say. Ash could sense the excitement of the people around him, especially his friends. It was a little frustrating that he couldn't use more Pokemon than Rowlet, but he knew it would be an awesome opportunity to get his newest grass type some experience. Especially with exam time coming up, and that final battle with Clembot for his Levels and Experience class.

"I'm going with Chimchar," Tierno was saying to Trevor, who seemed to be holding up his Mudkip's pokeball. It made Ash feel a little better about using the inexperienced Rowlet, with his friends seeming ready to use their own new Pokemon. Clemont was looking nervously at his pokeball, obviously seeming a little concerned about his energetic Turtwig, but Ash knew they'd be fine, especially with the skill they'd displayed already.

"I guess I'll be going with my Gothita," Shauna told Serena, looking surprisingly confident. "I never had the chance to get her into the Masterclass." Ash could see that Serena, who smiled in answer, was looking pretty nervous as well. He supposed the only Pokemon she had available in this case was Absol, and despite a decent training battle against Fantina, she still seemed fairly worried about him.

Of course, nobody looked more disappointed by this rule than Dawn, who was looking at Piplup with a defeated look in her eyes. That's when Ash remembered that she'd only been using her current team of six in her Contest competitions. This, of course, meant she had nobody available to battle, obviously not likely willing to use the Happiny she and Marie were taking care of.

Ash was about to ask her what she planned to do, but just then, Sycamore spoke up for his final announcement about the tournament. "All right, everyone, we'll have plenty of time to discuss the rules of the tournament throughout the week. However, there is one last thing I'd like to share with you all." He paused, sliding his hand into his pocket, and slowly pulling something out. Something that sparkled in the light. "This tournament, as I mentioned before," he said, holding up the thing in his hand, so everyone could see, many gasping at the sight, "will be very important in both developing and displaying the bonds you all have with your Pokemon. That is one of the most important goals of Lumiose University. This is why I have decided to reward the victor of this tournament with an item that will help you bring out the best in your Pokemon one day with that very bond that you develop here. The winner of the tournament...will receive this."

Ash's jaw dropped. It was a Key Stone.

* * *

"Ohhh, what am I going to dooo?!" Dawn sighed out, sitting on a bench as she and Marie were making their way back towards their dorm after their last class. "Am I really the only one who isn't going to be able to compete in this thing?"

It had been pretty deflating to get Professor Sycamore's big announcement that morning. Dawn had immediately been excited, simply wanting to get some meaningful battles in with her Pokemon before their next IPL match. However, finding out that literally _none_ of her Pokemon would be eligible really stunk. Not to mention that the victor of the tournament was going to get a pretty amazing prize.

"You've never bothered to catch even _one_ other Pokemon?" Marie asked, looking at Dawn in surprise, holding Happiny back from trying to run after a little Vulpix that was passing by with another student, who was talking about the tournament with her friend, saying something about winning it and eventually mega evolving her Vulpix when it became a Ninetales. Dawn, even with her limited knowledge of mega evolution, knew that would be pretty crazy to see, with there being no such thing as a Mega Ninetales, as far as she knew.

"I've just always wanted to stick with the Pokemon I've had," Dawn admitted. Of course, she'd been considering going out to catch one ever since arriving in Kalos. She'd just never gotten around to it. It would definitely be tough to work with a new Pokemon now anyways. "I mean, I have an Ambipom...sort of. But she's busy in Vermillion City, so I wouldn't want to bother her just for this."

Marie was silent for a moment, watching Piplup, who seemed just as upset as his trainer about this unexpected rule. "I'd loan you a Pokemon, but the only one I've got is Jigglypuff. And I guess Happiny isn't ready for this kind of thing just yet."

Dawn smiled at the thought, shaking her head as she looked back at Marie. "Thanks, Marie, but I would never use someone else's Pokemon for this kind of thing. Like Sycamore said, it's to help develop a bond with a Pokemon, and to put it on display. I can only truly do that with my own Pokemon. I guess I'm just gonna have to sit this one out, and leave it to my IPL matches to grow closer with my team."

"But that's crazy, Dawn!" Marie argued, shaking her head and grabbing Dawn's arm, looking determined to find some way to get the Coordinator to be able to participate in Sycamore's tournament. "You've got to be able to compete. Like Ash says, you can't give up. Let's figure something out!"

"Jiggly! Jigglypuff!" her Jigglypuff seemed to agree, puffing itself up at Marie's words, looking ready to charge into a battle.

Dawn shrugged, though, unsure of what exactly to do. She supposed she _could_ try to catch a new Pokemon. It wouldn't really make things easy for her once the tournament started, having an inexperienced partner, but she was sure there would be some strong Pokemon around that could help her out. And, it would help them grow closer right away, with something exciting to do together.

"Maybe...maybe I could see if I could find a new Pokemon," she finally suggested, looking at Piplup, who stared back curiously. "I've thought about it already, and maybe it's time to give some of the others a rest, right Piplup. Professor Rowan has always said my Pokemon are welcome at his lab, and he's got lots of room there for them to enjoy themselves."

"Lup piplup," Piplup nodded, looking somewhat disappointed about the idea of saying goodbye to a couple of his friends, but also excited about the idea of catching a new one.

"I'll go with you!" Marie said excitedly, jumping up along with Jigglypuff and Happiny. "Maybe we can catch a new Pokemon as well. That way I can have a couple of options to battle with during the tournament."

Dawn took a deep breath at that, relief sinking in as she looked up at the sky. At least she had a plan, and it was nice to have Marie coming along with her. The hardest part would be sending a couple of her Pokemon back home to Sinnoh, but at least she'd be able to call them back easily enough if she needed them, and obviously she'd be seeing them pretty soon once they went on Winter break. "I guess it's all settled then," she finally said, looking at Marie, and then Piplup. "We'll go and catch a new Pokemon. Maybe we'll be at a disadvantage during the tournament, but it'll definitely help in the long run. And who knows, maybe we'll find a really strong one."

"There's no need to worry, right Dawn?" Marie added with a wink, pulling out two pokeballs and recalling Jigglypuff and Happiny, the latter, along with all the other newly hatched Pokemon, now having its own pokeball, despite many of them usually staying out. Dawn knew it was a good idea to recall her, though, as Marie seemed to be in a rush, and a quest to catch a Pokemon could possibly get pretty hectic.

"Yeah, I guess not," Dawn laughed out, standing up and picking up Piplup. She looked down the street, seeing the Chesnaught building a little ways up ahead. "I guess we should still head back to the residence, though. I've gotta make a call to Professor Rowan."

Marie, although quite obviously ready to get going, easily agreed, and the two girls quickly made their way back to the Chesnaught building. Once there, they headed over to an empty phone that was in the lobby, where Dawn quickly made her call. When Rowan answered, he seemed excited about the chance to see some of her Pokemon up close once again, seeming most interested in having Togekiss, Mamoswine and Pachirisu come to join him. Dawn had been a little unsure of who to send over, and although it was tough to say goodbye to them, she was glad to have the choice made easier. She managed to let them all out in the recreation area for a goodbye, and promised them all that she'd see them soon. They all seemed to understand, though, and as Dawn finished her call with Rowan, she knew she'd be showing them all a new friend once she got back to Sinnoh during the break.

"Ready to go and catch yourself a new Pokemon?" Marie asked, as the two girls made their way back out of the building, Dawn now with just Piplup, Quilava and Buneary.

"You bet!" Dawn assured her, holding up Piplup and looking him in the eyes. "You'll help, right Piplup?"

"PiiipLUP!" the Penguin Pokemon assured her, thumping his chest with his flipper. He was just as ready as her.

And with that, the three of them headed off towards the exit of the city, ready to meet some new Pokemon, and hopefully catch a couple new friends.

* * *

"The Sycamore Mega Tournament?"

"Yeah, I heard some twoip students talkin' about it near da school," Meowth announced to his comrades. Jessie and James had been pretty bored lately, trying to come up with some kind of plan to steal Pikachu. Meowth had been the only one actually doing anything, making sure they kept in regular contact with Giovanni, and urging the others to keep an eye on the twerp and his Pikachu.

Not that any of them had come up with any good plans. They'd all been pretty deflated since their latest blastoff. It had seemed like they were finally able to do it that night near Prism Tower. Pikachu was theirs. The twerp's powerful Greninja was being pushed back, and they were just about to get out of there. If only those twerpettes hadn't shown up. The boss would've been rewarding them for catching a powerful Pikachu, and Meowth would be the top cat.

Unfortunately, their best plans were consisting of what to eat, rather than anything to do with Pikachu. Even Jessie seemed less interested in going after her Performance keys. But Meowth knew they needed to keep working. They had to figure something out. It wasn't like them to just give up. Pikachu would be theirs one day. Besides, a good blastoff from the twerp wasn't always that bad. It had led to some fun adventures in the past.

"When is it happening?" Jessie asked, sitting up in her seat, face lit up by the small window next to her. Their little hideout they'd found wasn't exactly the best place, but they'd all been happy to have a little bit of sunlight coming in from time to time.

"On da weekend," Meowth answered, smirking at the interested look in his companions' eyes. Even Wobbuffet seemed a little excited. "Perfect opportunity to nab us some powerful Pokemon don't ya think?"

"We'll have to plan this out carefully," James warned them, putting his hands together. "The twerp and his friends have everyone on high alert with those hunters in Shalour City. They'll be on the lookout for trouble."

"Like we should care!" Jessie scoffed, flicking her hair up with a wave of her hand. "They wouldn't dare mess with the likes of me."

"You mean like sendin' you flyin' into da sky?" Meowth asked, unable to control himself from taking a jab.

Fortunately, Jessie got the point and didn't argue, although she gave Meowth a fairly dark look. "What should we do, then? This tournament will have the whole city excited, so it won't be easy for us to stroll in there and grab Pikachu and any others."

"Maybe we should go undercover? Join the tournament and grab the Pokemon from the inside," James suggested, looking thoughtful. "The twerp won't see it coming, and neither will the teachers at the school. They'll think we're harmless students."

"And how do ya expect they'll let you in with da way you two look?" Meowth muttered, shaking his head at the suggestion. "Not exactly in da same age group."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jessie almost screeched, looking like she was about to leap at Meowth this time, before James managed to stop her.

"He's right," James sighed, looking out the window as a Pidgey flew by. "Even if we _did_ look like students, we wouldn't be able to register without actually being part of the school."

Meowth scratched his head, wondering just what kinds of options they had. "Well if we can't appear like students, maybe we should take da place of one," he finally suggested, having an idea based off of their success with disguises in the past. "Jess can make a disguise, we can nab one of dem student twoips, and then we'll go in der pretendin' to be one of dem."

It was a bizarre moment, as Jessie actually seemed to really like Meowth's idea. Of course, if it was successful, he knew she'd be taking credit for it. Not that that mattered right now. They just had to figure out how to pull this off exactly. They didn't have any lack of targets. Students were all over this place. They just needed someone who'd be easy to get out of the way, and someone Jessie could easily impersonate.

"...think you'll catch? I think I'd like a flying type."

The whole trio jumped at the sudden voice outside. James was the quickest to act, running to the window and starting to close it right away. However, just as he was sliding it closed, his eyes widened as he looked outside. Meowth watched him for a moment, exchanging a quizzical look with Jessie, before the latter spoke up.

"What is it, James?" she hissed, seeming to understand the fact that she couldn't speak at her usual high volume.

James was quiet another moment as whoever was passing by walked away, voices trailing off, barely audible. He turned around, looking quite alarmed. "It was one of those twerpettes. The blue-haired one that helped out the twerp against us."

Meowth quickly took a nervous step back, noticing Jessie's eyes flash angrily. Obviously that news wasn't welcome to her. Or...maybe it was, depending on how he looked at it. Whatever it was, she clearly wanted revenge, and immediately headed towards the window to see if she could spot the twerpette. "Where is she?! Who does she think she is?! Wait." She looked confused, apparently having spotted the girl and noticing something strange. "Is that a Nurse Joy with her? She looks awfully...short."

Meowth made his way over, hopping up onto the windowsill to catch a glimpse. He just caught sight of the two twerpettes as they rounded a corner, seemingly heading towards the forest outside the city. "Yeah...looks like a younger Nurse Joy. I think I might've seen her around the twerp a few times when I was snoopin' around."

Jessie and James both backed away from the window, looking at Meowth with interest. "Is she strong?" James asked. "Maybe we can get that Piplup from the other twerpette if we catch them alone."

Meowth shrugged, not exactly feeling good about their chances, but knowing he and his companions weren't likely to pass an opportunity like this up. At the very least it would give them some practice for the tournament they wanted to infiltrate. "Doesn't seem to do much battlin', but who knows with the twoip and his pals? But if they're out to catch some Pokemon, maybe we can let 'em do da work for us. Then we'll have lots ta give da boss. And der Pokemon might get tired out."

Jessie seemed to like that plan, straightening up and looking at James. "Let's show that twerpette she can't mess with Team Rocket."

James nodded, smiling as he seemed to envision their success. "The boss will be so proud of us! We'll make Team Rocket one of the most powerful forces in the Kalos region, and it all starts here!"

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet suddenly shouted out, saluting the other three and causing them all to jump up in surprise, somehow forgetting he was there in that moment.

"All right then, let's get going," Jessie ordered, grabbing her Gourgeist's pokeball off a little table and heading towards the door. Meowth, James and the lumbering Wobbuffet were quick to follow, ready to score a win for Team Rocket.

They decided not to use their Meowth balloon, knowing it would be a little easier to stay close to the twerpettes they were trailing by staying on the ground. It was a little tough catching up to them, but by the time the girls had exited the city into the forest, Team Rocket was close behind, ducking behind trees and under bushes, keeping a close eye on their targets. They knew they had to be careful not to make any noise, hoping to wait it out for an opportunity to grab some tired out Pokemon.

"This tournament is gonna be so cool, isn't it, Dawn?" the twerpette that looked like a young Nurse Joy said. "It's been so awesome being involved with you guys and the IPL, so I can't wait to see what I can do against you. I've learned a lot in my classes."

"I'm sure you'll be tough to beat, Marie," the twerpette named Dawn replied, giggling a little at her friend's excitement. "You and Jigglypuff seem pretty close, so maybe you guys will have an edge with the rule about experienced Pokemon."

The Nurse Joy twerpette, Marie, didn't seem too convinced by that. "Well...we've always been interested in battling, but it's also been a little...much when we actually try to do it. That's kind of why I want to catch another Pokemon. That way Jigglypuff will have some help in learning how to fight."

As the twerpette named Dawn was answering, Meowth glanced at Jessie, who seemed to be struggling with Wobbuffet to prevent him from making a noise, and James. "Sounds like the Nurse Joy twoipette's an easy target. Even if her Jigglypuff ain't a battler, we can still make use of it for da boss." He started envisioning a scenario where he rested comfortably in front of Giovanni while Jigglypuff sang a few songs to entertain the Team Rocket leader. Jessie was quick to snap him back to attention, though.

"No matter how weak it is, we stick with the plan. The other twerpette needs to learn a lesson, but she's pretty strong. Let her get their Pokemon tired out, and then we go in." Meowth nodded, looking over at James, who might not have been paying attention, having called out his Inkay, who he was handing half a croissant to. "Keep moving," Jessie hissed, snapping the croissant out of James' hand and into Inkay's mouth. "They're getting ahead." She quickly stormed ahead, kicking aside a Scatterbug, which glared back at the group as it hit a tree and saw them making their way forward.

* * *

"All right, Rowlet, it's time to do some special training," Ash announced, pulling off his backpack as he and Pikachu entered the training facilities alongside Clemont. He held up his backpack triumphantly, expecting the little owl Pokemon to emerge, as silly as that seemed in the moment, as he started hearing the soft snores coming from the bag.

"If only Turtwig could learn a few things from Rowlet," Clemont said, bringing out Turtwig's pokeball and holding it up. "I don't think I've ever seen him sleep."

As if in answer, his pokeball suddenly flashed open, with no movement from Clemont, and his energetic grass type emerged with a shout of, "Tur tur TWIG!" and leaped forward and onto the nearest battlefield, startling two trainers who were facing off with an Arbok and a Seviper. As the exasperated Clemont went over to deal with that, Ash turned his attention back to Rowlet.

"Rowlet! Rowwwleeet! Wake up! Time to train!" he peered into the backpack, noticing Rowlet's eyes open a little. "Come on, Rowlet. I know you'll be great. You can sleep as much as you want later, but we should get some training in, okay? Remember how tough Clemont and Turtwig were for us."

"Kooo," Rowlet answered after a moment, eyes opening a little wider as he started squirming out of his bag. Then, he hopped up out of it, flapping his wings midair as he looked back at Ash, wide awake and ready to compete.

"Awesome! Thanks Rowlet," Ash said, looking over to see Clemont managing to get Turtwig in his arms. "All right, let's go get to some training!"

"Kooooo!" Rowlet called out cheerfully, looking more excited now as he flew ahead of Ash as they headed over to meet Clemont.

They decided to do some individual training this time, each heading to their own training field. This way, they'd be able to work on some things that would be a little more unexpected if they met in the tournament, something they both seemed hopeful for, given the Pokemon they planned to use. So, when they got up to their own battlefield, Ash called out Hawlucha, who he'd kept around given Riolu's fondness for him, as well as Rowlet's. He also called out Noctowl, who he'd called over from Professor Oak before coming in here, thinking his other owl Pokemon would have some things to teach Rowlet. A few people walking by looked over in interest at the sight of the golden brown feathers of the shiny Pokemon. Pikachu also hopped over, clearly not wanting to be on the sidelines.

"Okay guys, you willing to help out Rowlet with some special training?" Ash asked the three older Pokemon, as Rowlet hovered near them. "He's obviously been training hard when we do IPL training, but I'd like to focus on him a few times with this big tournament coming up. I know with your help, he'll be great."

"Lucha!" Hawlucha nodded immediately, holding up a clawed fist, ready to do anything that was asked of him. He took a little glance around as the others nodded their approval.

"Riolu's with Serena right now," Ash told him, figuring out who Hawlucha was looking for. "He's getting a quick checkup from Reggie."

Hawlucha seemed to accept that, as Rowlet hovered in front of him, looking a little less excited than Riolu would look, but excited nonetheless. Ash was happy to have his loyal fighter around. Hawlucha had been a great teacher for Noivern when he'd been a baby Noibat, so he knew both Rowlet and Riolu would benefit from the Wrestling Pokemon's help.

However, the first thing Ash wanted to work on, was using Rowlet's flying abilities. While Hawlucha would still be important with those, Ash looked to Noctowl to get things started. "Okay Noctowl, we're going to work on Rowlet's wing strength. It'll help him get into the air a little quicker if he gets into a tight spot lower to the ground.

"Hoooo," Noctowl answered, tilting his head somewhat creepily, although Rowlet seemed kind of fascinated, doing his best to emulate the other owl. When they finally finished with that, though, Noctowl backed off, holding out his wings as he stood near the centre of the battlefield, and then flapping them down as hard as he could, holding them close to his body as he shot into the air, before holding them up again to stop his ascent

"Awesome! Great job, Noctowl!" Ash cheered, along with Pikachu and Rowlet. "Rowlet, did you see how Noctowl put as much force into flapping his wings as he could? That'll help you fly up faster to start, but he also tucked in his wings, which increased his speed even more." Ash looked over to Hawlucha, knowing he'd be able to help with this as well. "Hawlucha, how about you show how you use Flying Press? Pikachu, you meet that with Iron Tail.

"Lucha lucha," Hawlucha replied, stepping back, bending low, and then kicking off as Rowlet watched closely. The Wrestling Pokemon also tightened up his body as he flew upwards, moving just a little faster than Noctowl. Then, as he reached his desired height, he spread his cape-like wings, shining in the lights of the room, did a pose, and then spun through the air, tucking his wings in once more. Pikachu quickly jumped up to meet him, stretching out his already shining tail.

"Chuuu pika!" the electric mouse yelled out, his tail clashing hard with Hawlucha's best attack. The two strained together a moment, before both jumped back, sliding on the ground a few feet away from each other.

"Kooo! Hooo!" Rowlet excitedly called out, coming over to hover in front of Ash, looking ready to try it out. They'd worked on his flying before, but he could clearly see there was room to improve.

Ash smiled at the Grass Quill Pokemon's enthusiasm. "Okay, Rowlet, you try now. I want you to fly up and then use Peck on Hawlucha as fast as you can, okay?" He then looked over to the fighting type, who held up a fist, ready for whatever he could do to help. "Hawlucha, just try to block it. Don't do anything too rough, though. Rowlet's not at your level just yet."

Noctowl quickly came back down to the ground, landing to Ash's side as Hawlucha and Rowlet moved to the centre of the battlefield to face off. Rowlet seemed surprisingly fierce as he hovered across from Hawlucha, looking desperate to show off to the fighting type. He seemed to be looking at Hawlucha's legs, before glancing over at Noctowl, and Ash could see there was far more to his grass type's mind than the thoughts of sleeping. He'd studied both Noctowl's and Hawlucha's movements closely, and he seemed to have come up with a plan.

A moment later, Ash called out for them to start, just as Rowlet landed on the ground. The Grass Quill Pokemon quickly tensed up tightened up his little body, and then kicked off with all his might. As he quickly moved up, Ash realized Rowlet had decided kicking off like Hawlucha was his best method to get in the air. However, that didn't mean he'd ignored Noctowl, as he opened up his wings and flapped hard in midair, seemingly doubling his speed as he ascended. Then, he didn't even bother slowing down, spinning right around as he kept his momentum and aimed straight down towards Hawlucha, beak glowing and extending as he charged. Ash could see a little alarm on Hawlucha's face, but that didn't stop the Wrestling Pokemon from leaping up, reaching out his arms as though ready to catch Rowlet.

As surprisingly quick and unexpected as Rowlet's attack was, however, Ash could tell he was still in need of the training. While his combination of Noctowl's wing acceleration, and Hawlucha's kickoff was impressive, he still didn't have quite the force he needed. He met Hawlucha midair as the latter, reached out, taking Rowlet's Peck attack with a grunt and then managing to take hold of the owl Pokemon and turn around, bringing him to the ground and landing with a thud, before letting Rowlet out of his grasp to hover in the air, panting from the effort of his attack.

"Wow, great job, Rowlet!" Ash exclaimed, walking over and patting the Grass Quill Pokemon on the head. "I can tell that with a bit more work, you'll be as good a flier as anyone. Maybe you'll even be able to join those races that Staraptor, Swellow, Unfezant and Talonflame have." Noctowl gave out a little hoot like he didn't approve of that, apparently never having much interest in those races, but Rowlet seemed pleased by the praise, even getting a fist bump, which he accepted with a wing, from Hawlucha.

"Turtwig, now use Leech Seed, and Bunnelby, counter it with Double Slap!" The sound of Clemont's orders caught Ash's attention, and he looked over to the other battlefield, seeing Turtwig jump up, sending a seed rocketing towards Bunnelby, who crouched down, straightening out his ears, before slamming them forward, deflecting the seed right back towards Turtwig. "Now, use Bite!" Turtwig quickly jumped forward at that, opening his jaws and doing what he loved best. He chomped down on the flying seed and...ate it. "Turtwig! You were just supposed to destroy it!"

Ash turned away at that, chuckling to himself as he heard Clemont telling Turtwig he shouldn't be eating his own attacks. The little sight of his friend training inspired Ash further, though. Turtwig looked strong, even stronger than when he'd beaten Rowlet before, so Ash knew they had to keep it up. He could see Rowlet turning away from the sight of his grass type rival's training as well, looking determined to master whatever Hawlucha and Noctowl could teach him.

"Okay, guys," Ash said to his group. "Let's practice some more aerial attacks. Then we'll work on fighting in close. Pikachu and Hawlucha will be good for that. And Noctowl can show you how to attack from a distance in the air, Rowlet. We'll make sure you're more than ready for this tournament." _And,_ Ash thought, as they resumed their training, _Rowlet might be ready for more than that pretty soon._

* * *

"Jigglypuff, use Pound!"

"Jiggly!"

Dawn watched on, smiling as she saw the Balloon Pokemon leap up at the Fletchling she was fighting. The third fight she'd had, with the previous two being a Pidgey and another Fletchling that had proved too difficult for her and Marie to catch. Dawn had been doing her best to teach Marie some of the basics with catching Pokemon, that for the most part she'd known, but never really tried out. With this Fletchling, though, she was using all the tips Dawn had given her, and it looked like she was doing pretty well with this battle.

"Fletch!" the Fletchling cried out in surprise, as it was struck hard by Jigglypuff's fist and sent flying back into a tree.

"Now, finish this with Sing!" Marie called out, clearly remembering Dawn suggesting this tactic after the Pidgey had escaped after she'd thought it was ready to catch.

"Jiiigglypuuuff jigglyyyypuff," Jigglypuff sang out, aiming her soft voice towards the panting Fletchling. The song reached it quickly, and its eyes started to shut, its wings weakly flapping as it lowered to the ground, before lying still, snoring softly.

"Now, Marie!" Dawn shouted excitedly, while Piplup cheered next to her. "Throw the pokeball!"

"Right!" Marie said, looking pretty surprised at how close she was to actually catching a Pokemon. She fished a pokeball out of her pocket, and then quickly threw it forward as Jigglypuff, looking utterly exhausted after the effort of her three short battles, stepped back. The pokeball sailed forward, hitting Fletchling a moment later, and then opened up, a light reaching out and enveloping the little bird. The energy was pulled back in and the pokeball closed up, landing on the ground. It shook three times, seeming to take a very long time to do so, before finally stopping, sounding out with a soft _ding_. "YES!" Marie shouted happily, running forward.

Dawn watched her excited friend, smiling at her success. Although they had set out mainly for her to catch a Pokemon, Dawn had welcomed the opportunity to help out Marie a little, as her roommate was clearly not the most adept battler, only really having this first semester of battle experience from the school, which was still fairly limited. Marie had done well, though, as she'd kept trying, despite some early mistakes with the first couple of Pokemon. And now, she had her first catch, which Dawn was glad to have been able to see.

After a couple more minutes of celebrating, and finally calling out Fletchling and waking it up to welcome it to her team, which it seemed happy with, Marie turned to Dawn, straightening up and looking determined. "Okay, now it's time to find you a new Pokemon. Sorry I slowed us down so much. We _were_ out here for you after all."

"Don't worry about it," Dawn laughed out, reaching out and softly petting the new Fletchling. "We've still got plenty of time, and now I'm extra motivated after how well you did."

Dawn's confidence started to dip not long after that, though, as the two girls, with Fletchling scouting from the air, began their search for some more Pokemon. Unfortunately, it seemed that Marie's battles must have frightened off some of the nearby ones, and any that were around just turned around and wandered off whenever Dawn and Marie approached. After about an hour of searching, in which time only an angry looking Scatterbug, that seemed to be on the lookout for something, passed by, Dawn found a tree stump and sat down, sighing in frustration.

"Come on, Dawn," Marie encouraged, walking a few steps ahead as Fletchling came down to her level, shaking its head to show it hadn't found anything. "We'll find something soon enough. We just have to keep..." A strange, muffled sound was heard in the bushes behind Dawn, that seemed to distract Marie for a second, but she continued a moment later. "We just have to keep looking."

"Lup?" Piplup tilted his head, staring behind Dawn as some rustling was heard in the bushes again. He started moving over there, possibly thinking it was a Pokemon, but with how things were going, Dawn just ignored it, expecting it to be nothing more than the wind.

Dawn sighed, looking over at Marie, who was smiling as she held up a pokepuff for Fletchling, from a batch Serena had made. She knew she had to keep going as she watched them. Marie was already bonding with her new Pokemon. Dawn remembered those early times with her old Pokemon. It was an experience she wanted to enjoy again.

"You're right, Marie," she said, standing up and stretching. "Let's keep going. We'll find some Pokemon soon enough!"

"That's the spirit, Daw-"

"Luuup!"

Dawn whipped around at the sound of fear she heard from her most loyal Pokemon, immediately reaching down to grab another pokeball. Her hand froze, however, when she noticed what was in front of her. Recognition hit her as she saw the faces of those people that had attacked Ash and tried to take Pikachu that night near Prism Tower, after Happiny and the others had hatched. It was Team Rocket, looking a little flustered, like they'd been struggling through the forest, and perhaps had been fighting with each other, given the scratch marks that were on Jessie's face, or at least that was what Dawn remembered her name as, that must've been from Meowth. However, they weren't fighting each other _now_. In fact, they had Piplup locked up in one of those glass cases, similar to the one they'd trapped Pikachu in, held by the one named James.

"Team Rocket!" Dawn yelled, stepping forward angrily, hearing Marie rushing up behind her. "Give Piplup back!"

"I don't think so!" Jessie said dismissively, looking pretty smug. "After what you and the twerp did to us, I think we deserve this Piplup as compensation. The boss will be very pleased with such a strong Piplup."

"Dawn...who are these people?" Marie whispered, sounding nervous. "They're not the ones Ash mentioned are they?"

"We are Team Rocket!" Jessie announced proudly.

With that, the whole group of them straightened up, posing as though there was more of an audience than just Dawn, Marie and Fletchling. Dawn hadn't heard this little motto before, but as they began, she knew why Ash sounded sick of it when he'd mentioned it to her before.

"Prepare for trouble, we're taking your Piplup!" Jessie started, grabbing the Penguin Pokemon from James, and holding the case close.

"And make it double, this won't be a hiccup!" James continued, folding his arms.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowwwth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!" the Patient Pokemon gave a strange little salute from the back, as the others posed in front of him, looking very pleased with their performance.

"Um...what?" Marie asked, after a few moments of awkward silence.

Dawn would've laughed if Piplup wasn't in her grasp, but a vein immediately bulged out from the top of Jessie's head, the magenta-haired woman looking furious. "EXCUSE ME!" she yelled, taking a step forward threateningly. "That motto has taken years of dedication and practice to perfect!"

"Seems kind of silly to me," Marie responded, appearing like she was honestly unimpressed by so called villains having to perform a motto. "I mean...why give your opponents all that time to come up with a plan to fight back. It's like you're asking to lose, which according to Ash, you do all the time."

This time, Dawn _had_ to laugh, with Jessie's jaw dropping, like she'd never expected someone to disregard their motto for something so simple before. "How _dare_ you!" she yelled, looking incredulously at her allies.

Meowth looked pretty insulted as well, holding up a fist in anger. "Hey! Dis story's got no time for logic like dat!"

Marie just shrugged at that, and looked at Dawn. "Whatever. Let's just get Piplup back."

Dawn nodded, finally taking out a pokeball and tossing it forth, calling out Quilava, the flames on his head and rear immediately shooting up as he prepared to battle. Jessie and James were quick to send out their own Pokemon as well, Gourgeist and Inkay immediately guarding them as Piplup watched on in fear.

Dawn could almost sense the heated battle that was about to take place, Quilava and Fletchling looking fierce as they prepared to charge their opponents, while Inkay and Gourgeist hovered menacingly in front of them. However, it was apparently not meant to be. At least, not today, as suddenly, a thick, white rope was sent flying past Dawn's head from the trees behind her. A moment later, it struck Inkay, wrapping itself around the Revolving Pokemon, tightening quickly and leaving the psychic type in some kind of cocoon.

James stared at his Pokemon in shock, quickly looking up at Dawn and Marie, wondering just how they'd managed to pull that off. Of course, Dawn was just as confused as him, quickly turning around and looking at the source of the attack. Her eyes widened as a little bug type Pokemon, some kind of greyish-black caterpillar with three little hairs out of the top of its head, began rushing forward, looking furious about something. She realized it was the same one that had passed them earlier, although looking twice as furious as it seemed to have found its victims.

Jessie, Meowth and Wobbuffet all seemed too stunned to do anything as another String Shot came at them, this one hitting Jessie in the face, blinding her and causing her to drop Piplup's case, which rolled away. She then fell into Wobbuffet, who subsequently fell on top of Meowth, which actually made Dawn feel a little sorry for the Scratch Cat Pokemon, as Wobbuffet was most certainly a heavy load.

Scatterbug, which is what Marie quickly mentioned it was, was quick to act with its opponents down, or, in James' case, distracted with Inkay. It sent another powerful String Shot at Gourgeist, and then James and Inkay, pulling them down so they were close to the dazed Jessie, Meowth and Wobbuffet, before jumping over the whole group and sending out a cloud of golden dust which blew over them, causing them all to cry out as they convulsed, all freezing up as the paralysis hit them. Once they were completely incapable of moving, wrapped up by yet another String Shot to bind them as one group, Scatterbug bent his head low and charged forward, seemingly aiming the brunt of his force at Jessie, although the whole group seemed to feel it as they were somehow sent back a few inches by the little bug type.

"Wow," Marie laughed out, watching this all in fascination, "that's one feisty Scatterbug!"

"Yeah..." Dawn said quietly, watching another moment and then looking down to see Piplup's case a few feet away. She quickly rushed forward, opening it up as soon as she reached it, checking to make sure her loyal partner Pokemon was okay. "Piplup, you okay?"

"Lup! Piiiplup!" Piplup announced angrily, glaring over at Team Rocket, clearly wanting to join in on the fun Scatterbug was now enjoying.

Dawn smiled at that, turning around to Quilava and nodding to him as she let Piplup head out to join him. "Hey Scatterbug!" she called out, getting the bug type's attention before it sent another Tackle at Team Rocket. "Let us finish this one off. Don't worry, we'll make 'em pay for whatever they did to you."

Scatterbug paused a moment, apparently thinking it over. Eventually, though, it slid back, looking pleased with the idea, seeing Quilava and Piplup and knowing they'd be able to do something worthy of its rage. "Scatter," it shouted out, watching with interest.

"All right! Quilava, Swift! Piplup, Bubble Beam!" Dawn shouted, pointing ahead as her Pokemon charged forward.

"Luuup!"

"Lavaaa!"

Quilava was a little quicker, leaping into the air, spinning around and sending the golden stars firing down, while Piplup jumped and slid forward, opening his beak wide open and firing the stream of bubbles outward. The two attacks met just before reaching Team Rocket, the stars and bubbles swirling around each other in a dazzling combination, the gold lights from the stars reflecting off the bubbles and creating an intimidating combo that crashed down on the Pokemon thieves. The attacks exploded against them, gold sparks from Swift and blue mist from the bubbles shooting up in a cloud around the spot Team Rocket had been in. Then, they were sent flying off into the sky, and Dawn heard them shouting, "We're blasting off again!" as they vanished.

"Scatter! Scatterbug!" Scatterbug cheered out, hopping up and down as Piplup and Quilava returned to Dawn's side.

"Awesome! Good job, Dawn!" Marie called out, clapping at the display. "That move will look good in a Contest, too."

"Thanks," Dawn said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, before looking over at Scatterbug, a hopeful thought coming to her mind. "It wouldn't have been possible without Scatterbug, though." She walked over to the bug type, who looked up happily as she approached. "Thanks for your help there, Scatterbug," she said, kneeling in front of it. "I don't know what Team Rocket did to you, but I hope that was enough for justice."

"Scatter," Scatterbug shrugged, or appeared to shrug as it didn't have shoulders. "Scatterbug," it said, nodding towards Quilava and Piplup, tilting his head towards where their attacks had hit.

"Piplup and Quilava are my partners in Pokemon contests," Dawn explained to the bug type. "We make fancy move combinations and even use them in battles. It's a lot of fun, and really helps us become even better friends." She paused here, inching closer to Scatterbug. "From the energy you seem to have, I think you might be able to be a valuable member to our team. See, I could use some help from someone new, and I liked what I saw from you. And anyone who doesn't like Team Rocket is good in my books. So...what do you think?"

"Hey, that's not fair, Dawn!" Marie called out jokingly. "I had to battle Fletchling first before we became friends."

Dawn just laughed at that, looking at Scatterbug and waiting for its answer. It didn't take long, with the bug type looking once more over at Piplup and Quilava, who nodded encouragingly, before it looked back at Dawn, nodding confidently.

That little signal made Dawn's whole body relax as she grabbed a pokeball and held it up to Scatterbug. "I can't promise you won't be seeing Team Rocket again, but we'll definitely be able to use that energy of yours," she assured the bug type. "Welcome to the team, Scatterbug!"

"Scatter!" Scatterbug nodded and moved forward, hitting its head against the pokeball and causing it to open up and absorb its energy inside. The pokeball shook only a couple of times and then dinged softly as it stopped in Dawn's hand.

"No need to worry about anything, Scatterbug. We'll be great friends!" The pokeball shook in her hands, her newest friend clearly in agreement.

And with that, Dawn and Marie were ready to return to the city, each of them now with new Pokemon, and all set to compete with and against their friends in Sycamore's big tournament. And, Dawn knew, ready to get their new adventures truly started, with new Pokemon sure to help them in their struggles beyond.

 **Author's Note:**

I know...kind of a weird chapter...mostly because Serena was essentially absent and Ash didn't really do too much. But, Dawn and Marie needed some bonding time, and a couple of new catches, so I thought it was kind of fun. Didn't show Marie's battling much, mostly because Dawn was more of the focus and I thought the brief moment of her catching Fletchling was enough. As for Dawn, the point of Scatterbug was that it was more of an inexperienced Pokemon, despite it completely dominating Team Rocket in Caterpie fashion. That's why I didn't have her battle it to catch it.

And the tournament. Hopefully you're excited for that. I hope the idea behind the Key Stone being the prize works. Kind of meant to go with some of the reasoning behind Sycamore opening the school, which was studying and working with the students developing closer bonds with their Pokemon, which would relate to mega evolution. Thus...Key Stone for his special tournament. And hopefully you caught the little jab at GCTO...

So that's that. See you all with the next chapter. "A Mega Test"


	33. A Mega Test

**Author's Note:**

All right, another chapter is here! This one is a bit...I don't know...odd in some places. When it comes to some of the Ash-Greninja stuff I'm doing, I'm basically trying to expand a bit on the little info Sycamore had in the anime. I've got a few things coming up that I'm hoping will work with it, but...I guess we'll see how that all plays out. Not much I can say until it starts to get cleared up.

Anyways, off to Chapter 33.

 **Chapter 33: A Mega Test**

It was the last school night of the week, with only the Friday classes remaining before Ash and his friends would be able to compete in the tournament and take their chances at getting that Key Stone that Sycamore had promised the winner. It was tough to sleep, and Ash could barely imagine what it would be like the next night. In some ways, he was even more excited about this tournament than he had been about the opening IPL match. He supposed it had more to do with the fact that he'd been letting his losing streak get to his head so much before, but he was also just so excited to see how he'd do with Rowlet, as well as seeing how his friends would do with their new Pokemon.

He sat up in his bed as thoughts of potential battle scenarios in the tournament played through his head. He imagined Rowlet going up against Turtwig again, and settling the score. He thought of Dawn and her new Scatterbug, taking on Marie and her new Fletchling. And he thought of Serena and Absol, truly working together as trainer and Pokemon for the first time. It was all so exciting.

"Pika?" Ash looked down to Pikachu who was curled up at the foot of his bed, the electric mouse looking up tiredly at his trainer, having noticed he was awake.

"Sorry, Pikachu. Just thinking," Ash said, smiling sheepishly.

Pikachu didn't seem to mind, standing and stretching, looking a little more awake now that he noticed how awake Ash was. A moment later, there was a bit of shuffling over where Ash's backpack lay next to his desk, and Rowlet surprisingly poked his head out. Of course, Ash supposed the little owl Pokemon was asleep most of the day, so maybe it made sense for him to wake up in the middle of the night.

Ash smiled at the sight of his two Pokemon, suddenly feeling the need to get up, knowing he wouldn't be getting to sleep any time soon. "I can't sleep, guys," Ash admitted to the two Pokemon. "Wanna go for a little walk?" he asked, sliding out of his bed.

Both seemed agreeable to that, Pikachu hopping up onto Ash's shoulder as he got up, while Rowlet flew to the opposite side. Ash then grabbed his jacket and his belt, which had both Greninja's and Hawlucha's pokeballs. He then headed out the door, careful to step by Clemont's room quietly and open and close the door to the dorm carefully.

When he was out in the hallway, he thought he heard the sound of a door around the corner in the direction of Serena and Shauna's room, so with a curious look at Pikachu and Rowlet, he headed off in that direction. He rounded a corner, finding the stairs that led back down to the lobby, for those who preferred not to use the elevator. Since he was feeling so full of energy, Ash decided that's what he would do, but as he started to head down, he glanced up, hearing the sound of another door, and noticed the steps leading up to the roof of the building as well.

He shrugged, thinking it would be interesting to head on up there, and he, Pikachu and Rowlet started to make their way up. A few moments later, Ash was at the door and pushing it open, a soft breeze blowing into his face as he stepped out into the cool night air, the lights of Lumiose City all around the building. It was an impressive sight, and Ash would've taken more of it in, but he then noticed he wasn't alone on the roof at the moment.

"Serena?"

The honey-blonde Performer turned around from her spot near the edge of the roof, where she was looking out towards Prism Tower, Absol and Braixen by her side, with Riolu sitting on Absol's back. Ash noticed Pancham and Sylveon as well, having a mini sparring match to the side. Serena seemed to be as wide awake as Ash, still in her regular outfit, looking like she hadn't even tried to get to sleep.

"You okay?" Ash asked, walking forward to join her, letting Hawlucha and Greninja out of their pokeballs, the two of them heading over to join Pancham and Sylveon. Riolu noticed this, and quickly followed, hopping off of Absol's back. Rowlet then followed close behind him.

"Yeah," Serena said, sighing as she looked out again, eyes lit up by the lights of the city. "I'm just...thinking. You too?"

"I can't stop thinking about the tournament," Ash admitted, laughing a little in embarrassment, although a moment later Serena joined in.

"I can't stop thinking about it either," she finally said, looking down at Absol next to her. "It's kind of weird for me. I know battle tournaments are pretty common, but this just seems so important. And it's not just about the prize. I don't think I really care about the prize."

Ash was surprised to hear that, glancing over at Absol, who sat calmly next to Serena, apparently in agreement with what she was saying. The thought of the girl named Astrid in the Kalos League came to Ash's mind, and he couldn't help but think that Serena had thought of that at some point since the tournament had been announced. If she could win it, and somehow get an Absolite...

Of course, Ash knew that perhaps that was the reason why Serena and Absol had bonded so quickly and were already so close. She wasn't thinking about making him stronger and a more skilled Performer just for winning, or accomplishing impressive feats like mega evolving. Serena was helping Absol overcome his dark past. They wanted to bring light to the world together, and perform as a team, with Braixen and the others.

In a way, Serena and Absol were similar to him and Greninja. Sure, he and Greninja were very focused on battling, and they'd worked hard to make it to the Kalos League finals together, eventually achieving that special form along the way. But, while succeeding in the Kalos League and perfecting Ash-Greninja were important for them, as their journey progressed, the most important thing had been simply working together, trusting each other and aiming for higher heights as a team, with all the other Pokemon. Maybe they'd started to forget that once they'd fallen to Alain, much like after their losses to Wulfric and Sawyer. They didn't _have_ to win. Winning the Kalos League was important to them, but it was never a step back from their dream.

He looked over to the Ninja Pokemon, watching as he and Hawlucha exchanged a few practice attacks, Hawlucha using his new Steel Wing against Greninja's Cut. The Ash-Greninja form was still somewhat confusing to Ash, and he wondered whether he'd ever truly understand it. He still wanted it to work, and he knew it was useful in big battles, but he knew he didn't have to be so worried about it. Serena and Absol had a clear goal in mind for their partnership together, and that was to grow as a team, and enjoy performing together with Serena's other Pokemon. Ash, Greninja, Pikachu and the others...they would do that as well.

"You and Absol make a great team," Ash finally said, noticing the pride in Serena's eyes at his words. "I hope we'll get to battle in the tournament."

Serena thought for a moment, eyes drifting over to where Rowlet was flying around Riolu, the baby Pokemon trying to catch him. Ash knew that Serena actually had an advantage when it came to this tournament, with Absol being, for the most part, recovered physically. He wasn't worried about Rowlet's strength, though. He just wanted to see what Serena and Absol could show him in battle.

He looked over to Greninja again, seeing the Ninja Pokemon looking back, perhaps sensing something in his trainer's thoughts. And soon enough, he'd see what he and Greninja could show their opponents in battle. They weren't giving up on moving forward together either.

* * *

"So, for today's class, we'll be having a test," Professor Sycamore announced, shocking the tired students around the room.

 _Test?_ Ash really didn't like that word. Considering he'd barely passed one the previous week where he had to bandage up a wound for a Pokemon, he really wasn't feeling too good about the idea of another one. It would be even worse if it was a written one. He really hadn't been forced to do much in the way of writing here at Lumiose University, but when he did, he was a little lost on how to describe some of the things he was explaining, despite knowing the material fairly well. He supposed he'd just have to give it his best shot and hope Professor Sycamore wasn't going to go too hard on the class. It _was_ the Friday before his big tournament after all.

A student near the front of the class raised their hand, getting the attention of Professor Sycamore, who had made the announcement from his position near the back of the little stage area at the front. The Pokemon researcher nodded to the student, looking amused by the muttering from many in the class about the test, which there had been no warning for. "Professor...what kind of test is this going to be? I've been training for the tournament, so I haven't been able to study as much as I could have."

"Not to worry," Sycamore said, smiling in amusement at the question. "This will be more of a practical test. This week and next, I'll be having everyone come up to the front of the class, and demonstrate an ability in battle against Clembot. It doesn't necessarily have to be one that we've studied in class. This is just so that we'll have a better understanding of how abilities can affect the outcome or momentum of a battle."

That got the students throughout the room quite interested, each of them leaning forward to hear the rest of the instructions. Ash could see a few people immediately pulling out pokeballs, ready to get started right away. He was pretty excited too, hoping to do much better than he had in his last classroom demonstration with Rowlet. He just had to pick a Pokemon to use, wondering which ability would work best in a demonstration.

"Pikapi," Pikachu muttered from his lap, clearly making the decision for him. Ash laughed at that, scratching Pikachu behind the ears, knowing how eager he was to get into some proper battle action. It was definitely frustrating for him to be stuck on the sidelines with Rowlet being the only one able to participate in the tournament.

"So, how about we get started?" Sycamore finally said, as an assistant entered the room, guiding in one of the Clembot robots. Ash glanced to his right, seeing Clemont lean forward, looking a little nervous. He seemed to get like that every time there was a demonstration using Clembot, obviously worried about how successful his invention would be. Luckily enough, Clembot had appeared to be the most useful addition Clemont had made to the school, being crucial to many teachers' lessons.

"Who do you think you'll use?" Ash asked Clemont, as Sycamore pulled out a clipboard, which presumably had the class list on it, for calling up the students.

Clemont thought for a moment, clearly trying to decide which would be best, before ultimately pulling out a pokeball, looking a little unsure, but smiling. "I guess this will be an opportunity to use Turtwig in a battle before the tournament."

Ash was a little surprised at that choice, given the fact that Turtwig would probably need to take a decent amount of damage before being able to use his ability. Clemont seemed fairly sure of his choice, though, and Ash knew he'd been doing quite a bit of training with Turtwig over the last few days, so maybe he had something planned.

The two of them watched the first few demonstrations in silence. Ash could see that some of his classmates, who he'd seen training a few times in the training facilities, had shown much improvement. The first trainer, a guy with a Magby, was able to quickly make use of the fire type's Flame Body to burn the opposing Squirtle and land a few strong attacks before Sycamore called for the match to end, only wanting the demonstration of the ability and evidence of its use in battle.

One of the later matches, two thirds of the way through the class, was particularly intriguing, with someone using an Oddish and having it start the battle with Sunny Day to activate its Chlorophyll ability, perfectly using it to fire off a quick Solar Beam to beat back the opposing Geodude. Ash remembered the Shiftry that Dawn had fought against during the screening battles using the same technique, and wondered if this trainer had seen that match. He knew _he'd_ have to remember that strategy if he ever had a Pokemon with that ability.

When the Oddish trainer's battle was called to an end, Sycamore finally looked up in the direction of Ash and Clemont and gestured towards the latter. "Clemont, if you don't mind, you're up next. Who would you like to use in your battle?"

Clemont started making his way down towards the front of the class, holding up his pokeball as he walked. "I think I'll use my Turtwig," he informed Sycamore, stepping up to take his place on the makeshift battlefield. "He might be able to use his ability in the tournament tomorrow, so I'm going to have him get some practice in."

"Sounds good," Professor Sycamore said, stepping back and looking on with interest. Ash was definitely interested as well. He almost got the feeling that Clemont was hiding something. He noticed his backpack moving in front of him, and smiled, seeing Rowlet pop his head out of it, hopping out and flying up to Ash's shoulder, opposite Pikachu. Clearly the little owl Pokemon had heard what was going on, and wanted to see what his fellow grass type was up to.

Clemont looked over at Clembot as he held up his pokeball, waiting a moment before finally throwing it out. The light flashed as it opened, and with a loud, "TURTWIG!" the energetic Tiny Leaf Pokemon emerged, jumping up and down a couple times, before looking back at Clemont. The inventor gave his Pokemon a stern look, which Turtwig actually seemed to respond to, as he turned back, waiting for Clembot to call out his Pokemon.

The robot held up one of its arms, seemingly observing Clemont and Turtwig a moment, and then, he jerked it upwards, firing the pokeball out, the capture device opening up and flashing brightly to reveal a Corphish on the opposite end of the stage. Ash was a little surprised at that, even noticing Sycamore looking on curiously. Clembot seemed to use Pokemon with a type advantage for the most part, the Geodude against the Oddish being one of the odd exceptions. But particularly against an experienced trainer like Clemont, this was an odd move. Unless it had something to do with the ability...

As odd as the choice seemed to be, though, Sycamore must not have wanted to delay too much longer, quickly calling for the battle to begin. Ash was happy to see Clemont make the first move, acting quickly once Sycamore made the call. "Turtwig, use Bite!"

"Harden!" Clembot countered immediately, observing Turtwig carefully as he ran forward towards Corphish.

"Corphis cor!" Corphish yelled out, tightening up its body quickly, just as Turtwig leaped forward, its body glowing briefly. The grass type struck a moment later, closing his jaws over the spikes on the top of Corphish's head. The Ruffian Pokemon winced, but mostly seemed unharmed by the attack, looking up, pulling up one of its arms in preparation to attack.

"Now, use Crabhammer!" Clembot shouted, causing a few students near Ash to gasp, seeing the vulnerable position Turtwig was in.

"Crabhammer can cause a lot of damage," one of them was saying. "It can even hurt a grass type if it's a good hit."

"And Crabhammer usually hits pretty hard," another added.

Ash narrowed his eyes, watching Clemont, who seemed pretty calm as he watched. Rowlet seemed pretty tense on Ash's shoulder, obviously interested to see any kind of weakness Turtwig might have. Of course, when Corphish swung out with its tightly closed pincer, which glowed a bright blue as it rushed towards Turtwig, Ash could see they weren't witnessing a weakness, but rather a crucial strength. Turtwig's whole body seemed to tense up, glowing briefly just before Crabhammer hit.

"Twig!" the grass type shouted out, wincing from the hit, but overall seeming unaffected by it. A normal reaction from an barely effective move. But...Ash could tell by the reaction of many in the class that it probably should have been more effective

"Now Turtwig, use Leech Seed!" Clemont ordered quickly, distracting Ash from his thoughts. "Then jump back and use Razor Leaf!"

Turtwig nodded, holding on tight to Corphish, who seemed a little surprised by being unable to get free of the Tiny Leaf Pokemon's hold. The grass type seemed to sense it had an easy opening, eyes lighting up as the seed atop its head emerged and shot forth, striking Corphish and opening up, unleashing vines all across its body. Turtwig was quick to follow the next order as well, jumping back, sliding a few inches, and then swinging his head forward to unleash three razor sharp leaves that sliced across Corphish, sending the water type crashing to the ground.

"And that's the match!" Sycamore called out quickly, even though it looked like Corphish could probably still continue. Turtwig had definitely done a lot of damage in that short time, though, with only a couple of attacks. "Well done, Clemont and Turtwig."

"What ability was that?" Ash heard someone muttering, as Clembot and Clemont both recalled their Pokemon. Ash was unsure as well, trying to remember if he'd seen it before. He glanced up at Rowlet, the Grass Quill Pokemon tilting his head in curiosity.

Luckily for the class, Sycamore had their answer, which he explained as Clemont made his way back towards his seat next to Ash. "That was the ability known as Shell Armour," Sycamore explained, looking impressed as his eyes followed Clemont, who seemed a little embarrassed at the impressed looks he was getting. "It's a rare ability for a Turtwig to have; what we've been calling a hidden ability. It's not going to protect Turtwig from many other attacks, but as you saw there, a move like Crabhammer, which can often cause extra damage with a critical hit, was less effective, because Shell Armour protects the Pokemon from those critical hits. So, essentially, Crabhammer was just a barely effective water type attack on a grass type like Turtwig."

Ash raised his eyebrows at that, glancing over at Clemont, who shrugged, smiling nervously. That was interesting to know, for sure. It would definitely make Turtwig a little harder to deal with if Ash and Rowlet were to go up against him and Clemont in the tournament. Especially if Turtwig was able to land a few attacks early, and make those critical hits more important. The thought made Ash smile as he looked back towards the front of the class. He had to wonder if Clemont wanted to show that ability off to him and Rowlet, just to show that they were in for a challenge once the tournament started.

"And next up, we have Ash," Sycamore suddenly called out, looking back up to where Ash and Clemont were sitting. "Ready to get going, Ash?"

Ash nodded, quickly taking Rowlet, who had fallen asleep, off of his shoulder and carefully putting him in his backpack, before getting up and making his way towards the front of the class, Pikachu tensed up on his shoulder and ready to go. "Pikachu and I are all set, Professor Sycamore," he informed the Pokemon researcher, starting to head towards the spot opposite Clembot.

However, Professor Sycamore didn't seem quite ready, as he called out to Ash before he moved any further. "Sorry, Ash...and Pikachu, but I was hoping you could demonstrate something a little more...unusual."

Ash narrowed his eyes in confusion, turning around and looking up at Professor Sycamore. "What do you mean?" he asked, noticing Pikachu sigh in disappointment.

"I think you might have an idea," Sycamore answered, smiling a little.

Ash's hand drifted towards the pokeballs on his belt, his fingers lightly brushing over Greninja's pokeball, which seemed to shake in answer, the Ninja Pokemon clearly sensing what was up. Ash was a little hesitant, though, even after what he was thinking of the night before. They hadn't tried to battle, not in _that_ way, since the IPL match against Anton. Ash had been hoping to get in some more training before doing that, and he hadn't exactly had a chance to since the tournament was announced. He supposed Sycamore had a reason for this request, though. _Maybe he knows a little more_ , Ash thought, hoping Pikachu was going to forgive him as he knew what he had to do.

"You and Greninja, then?" Sycamore said after another moment of silence, apparently spotting Ash's hand closing around Greninja's pokeball. "I think it will be...educational."

Ash nodded, finally pulling out the pokeball and holding it up. "We'll do what we can." He glanced up at Pikachu on his shoulder, his loyal partner looking further disappointed. "Don't worry, buddy. You'll get in another battle soon. You'll lead the training for Rowlet later today, okay?"

Pikachu smiled at that, nodding and hopping off of his trainer's shoulder as the two of them made their way over to stand opposite Clembot on the mini battlefield at the front of the class. "Pi pikachu!" The electric mouse cheered out as Ash threw his pokeball forward, Greninja emerging with a flip through the air. Ash was glad for the support from his loyal partner Pokemon, promising to himself that he'd make sure Pikachu got his chance soon enough. He definitely wanted to make up for that loss in his last IPL match.

There was a brief moment of silence, if one ignored the excited murmurs about Greninja from some of the students, before Clembot called out his own Pokemon. "Chesnaught, come on out!" he shouted, firing the pokeball out of the mini cannon on his arm.

There were a few gasps from the other students, and Ash was surprised at the opposing Pokemon as well. The grass and fighting type looked massive as it stood tall opposite Greninja, its arms strecthed out, ready to battle, and the large, spiky shell on its back casting a large shadow behind it. This was definitely going to be interesting. Ash wasn't put off by it, though, ready to see just what he and Greninja could do since battling Anton. They'd done well for the most part, only losing focus in the final stages. They'd struggled against Team Rocket after that, though, relying on Dawn and Serena to help them out. Now, they would get back on track, though. They would take this battle to their opponent. Chesnaught looked strong, but Ash and Greninja would beat it together.

When Sycamore signalled for the battle to begin, Ash was ready. "Start things off with Cut!" he ordered, clenching his fist at his hip and bringing his arm up like he was using a sword, just as Greninja did the same, the white blade of light emerging in his webbed hand. The water and dark type burst forward, seemingly vanishing from his spot in front of Ash, before reappearing a moment later in front of Chesnaught, slashing outwards with the white blade in his hand, striking Chesnaught in the chest with all the force he could muster.

Chesnaught was sent flying back from the attack, soaring through the air and landing hard on the ground behind Clembot, who looked very surprised for a robot. Ash's eyes widened, also surprised by the force in the attack. He could almost feel it, the desire that he and Greninja had to get themselves back on track adding something more to that attack.

"All right, keep it up!" Ash yelled, his heart beating a little faster as they prepared to quickly move into the next stage of the battle. He could see Chesnaught starting to stand, but he wasn't going to let his opponent get back into it. There was no chance. "Aerial Ace!"

"NINJA!" Greninja was off like a bullet again, darting past Clembot, who didn't have any clue as to how to respond. The Ninja Pokemon's limbs glowed white as he ducked past Chesnaught and then kicked outward as hard as he could, lifting the grass and fighting type into the air. Then, he jumped up, spinning around and sending another kick, propelling Chesnaught back to where he started, crashing hard into the ground in front of Clembot, cracking the floor and causing a few students near the front to laugh nervously.

 _Keep it up!_ Ash thought. _Don't let up!_ "Water Shuriken!" His heart was racing even faster, his eyes widening and focusing closer on his target. He could see Chesnaught in front of him, struggling to stand from the Aerial Ace a moment earlier. He felt the water rushing in his hand as Greninja raised his arm up from midair, the shuriken forming quickly. Then, with all his might, the Ninja Pokemon fired it forward, the watery projectile crashing against Chesnaught and sending it face first into the ground again as Greninja landed, ready to keep his attacks going.

That's when Ash knew it was happening. He saw through Greninja's eyes, felt the water rushing around him, felt the desire to work together and push back their doubts. Ash could see the torrent around him from Greninja's eyes, and he could see the transformation taking place in front of him from his own. He felt the excitement, both his own and Greninja's, and then they spread their arms, embracing the rush of power as the water formed into a shuriken on Greninja's back.

"Now, Greninja, finish this with-"

"Stop!"

Ash was so close to completing the order, he was almost tempted to follow through, but fortunately, he managed to restrain himself, Greninja helping to do so as he quickly lowered his arms. Both of them looked across at one another, Greninja's form suddenly fading away, almost as quickly as it had appeared. Ash could hear some muttering from the students in the class, but ignored them as he looked forward, seeing Chesnaught ahead of him, the grass type struggling to its feet, looking completely wiped out.

He quickly made his way forward, helping Chesnaught up, feeling guilty about going all out like he had, despite only having landed three attacks. "Hey Chesnaught, sorry about that. You okay?"

"Ches chesnaught," the Spiny Armour Pokemon answered, smiling in thanks at Ash, although wincing a little as it finally stood up straight. It turned as Greninja approached, nodding to the Ninja Pokemon. "Chesnaught ches," it said.

"Ninja," Greninja answered, nodding back, before looking to Ash. He seemed to be a little shocked as well at his display of strength, bringing up his webbed hand and looking at it curiously. Ash just smiled back, though, knowing that this was only a fraction of what they could do together. He hadn't felt like that since their match against Diantha, when she'd challenged them, having heard of Greninja's strange form.

"That's all for today, class," Sycamore suddenly called out, having made his way over to stand next to Ash at the centre of the battlefield, while Clembot recalled Chesnaught back into its pokeball. "We'll discuss this ability next week. Good luck in the tournament this weekend, for those who are participating."

Ash got the sense that he would be staying behind, which he was fine with, as he definitely had some questions to ask, so he waited patiently as the crowd of students started making their way out. Many were whispering to each other, looking in Ash's direction, clearly excited about his brief, but dominant display with Greninja. He ignored that, though, noticing as Clemont started making his way down, bringing Ash's bag with him. He looked pretty surprised by Ash's display as well, but more curious about Sycamore's sudden dismissal of the class.

When the class had finally cleared out, and Ash and Clemont were standing with Sycamore, the Pokemon researcher made his way back over to his desk, grabbing a few papers, before returning, eyes on Greninja. "Well...congratulations, Ash. You passed," he joked, smiling at him and Greninja. "Excellent use of the Battle Bond, or also known as, the Bond Phenomenon. Sorry you couldn't properly battle with it, but clearly it would have been a bit too much for Chesnaught to handle. I've never seen Clembot look so overwhelmed before, but he was adjusted for Intermediate trainers, for the purposes of this test." Ash noticed Clemont look a little relieved at that, obviously having thought his invention had somehow failed.

Ash was more curious about the first thing that Sycamore had said, though, and he exchanged a curious look with Greninja as he asked his question. "You said I used the...Bond Phenomenon?"

Sycamore nodded, looking at the papers in his hands, which had some diagrams of a Greninja and some pictures of ninjas and old looking stone tablets. "I've had to do a great deal of research just to find this little bit of information, but at least it's something. I have a couple other things I'm looking into, and a guest will be visiting this weekend to discuss it, but I thought you'd find what I have now to be interesting."

"So it's something that's happened before?" Clemont asked, moving over to glance at the notes Sycamore had in his hands. "Are there any other trainers you know of that can do it?"

"Well...not exactly," Sycamore admitted, chuckling in amusement as he looked back at Ash. "I think Ash and Greninja are the only ones to have achieved this in hundreds of years. However, it seems that it has been accomplished before, by a Greninja in Ninja Village." That didn't surprise Ash, as he remembered the devoted Greninja fans like Sanpei he'd met there. Of course, even they didn't seem to know too much about Greninja's form when they'd seen it, almost just as surprised as Ash.

"Do you know why we can do this?' Ash asked, leaning forward and glancing at the notes as well, although stepping back a moment later, too confused by them, preferring Sycamore's explanation. "Is it something special about Greninja?"

"Yes, and you as well, Ash." Sycamore paused, looking at his notes, appearing like he was still trying to figure a few things out. "It's still a little unclear, but it seems that only a very unique bond of complete trust and belief in one another can achieve this. Of course, as Greninja is the only Pokemon known to have accomplished this before, I would assume it has something to do with the species as well. Perhaps some variation of Torrent or Protean...I still need to research further on that. It's also possible it's got a connection to another region, which my guest may be able to help out with. In any case, the trust that you and Greninja have for one another when activating this...ability, appears to be so powerful that you are, in a sense, able to become one being as you battle. Greninja even takes on some of your physical characteristics...including what you seem to wear."

Ash's eyes widened at that, thinking of the red and black fins, along with the lighter blue skin that appeared, possibly being a match to his hat, hair and jacket. What he was a little less surprised about, was the trust factor. He knew it had something to do with their bond, the transformation often activating when they were focused on one goal together. Of course, it was still a little confusing, as he knew he'd at the very least had similar bonds with his other Pokemon. Especially Pikachu.

He wondered about the times he'd struggled with Greninja's transformation, his mind going back to what he'd thought about the previous night, when on the roof with Serena. He didn't think it had ever been lack of trust in Greninja, but perhaps they'd lost trust in themselves, which made it harder to work together. He knew he had to make sure to be careful about that in the future, and not just with Greninja.

"Do you know why it seems to be on a level close to mega evolution?" Clemont asked after a few moments of silence, peering at a picture Sycamore had of a Key Stone and Greninja in the midst of transforming.

Sycamore paused at that, suddenly pulling out a Key Stone from his pocket, which Ash assumed was the one that would be the victor's prize in the upcoming tournament. "It definitely has to do with the bond, which is essential for both transformations. A Pokemon somehow being able to harness the power granted to them by their trainer is rare enough, but to do it in this way is truly one of a kind. I would definitely be interested to see how a bond on that level would work when it came to standard mega evolution."

Ash thought that would be an interesting thing to see as well. And the thought made him even more excited to battle his friends in the tournament. He was excited to see just how close they all were with their Pokemon, and just what they could get them to do on the battlefield.

* * *

"A tournament with a Key Stone as the prize? That sounds awesome!" Clemont couldn't help but smile as Korrina pumped her fists in excitement, despite having no part in the upcoming tournament. "It'd be really cool if you managed to get a Key Stone, Clemont. Then you just have to get a mega stone, and a Pokemon to mega evolve, and..."

It was kind of hard to follow along as she went on a bit of a tangent about the different Pokemon she knew that Clemont could catch and find a mega stone for. She had a few recommendations for places in Geosenge Town to look, and even said her grandfather knew of a few places in Hoenn and Kanto that might have some places. That was about all he could keep up with, though, instead just watching her on the video monitor, her blonde hair bouncing up and down as she animatedly discussed the mega stones she knew about.

After a few moments, he realized that he was staring, silently thanking Arceus that Bonnie or Shauna weren't watching him. He'd kind of decided to make this call out of nowhere, after Ash, and Dawn, who'd caught up with them on the way to the training facilities, had both decided to make a call of their own. Clemont had just wondered if Korrina might have something to say about the Key Stone being the prize for the tournament. And...apparently she did.

"Maybe when you win and are able to mega evolve a Pokemon, you and I can have a rematch. And that time it'll be a bit more fair since you'll have a mega Pokemon too." Korrina finally paused for a breath there, sitting back in the seat she was in and looking back at Clemont, smiling confidently.

It took Clemont a few seconds to realize what she'd actually said, staring back curiously as she waited for an answer. Then, he shook his head as the realization hit him. "Wh-what? You think I'm gonna win? It's pretty tough competition, you know."

Korrina shrugged, obviously thinking that was nothing to worry about. "You're a good trainer, Clemont. I barely beat you, and I was using my best Pokemon with mega evolution. And you said everyone's using Pokemon they've never competed with officially, right? You've got as good a chance as any of them, and I know you and your Turtwig will figure it out."

"I don't know," Clemont admitted, feeling the little bit of doubt as he looked over towards Ash, who was busy talking to Professor Oak. "It's some pretty tough competition," he said, as he turned back to look at Korrina. "Ash and the others still have some tough Pokemon, and they know how to get a lot out of them."

Korrina shook her head, waving her hand dismissively. "Clemont, come on! You _want_ to win, right? You're not entering to lose."

"Of course not!" Clemont said quickly, shaking his head. He couldn't help but let his shoulders sag a little. "I mean...I want to win, but, I just know it'll be tough. _Really_ tough. Turtwig's still kind of unpredictable, and there are some tough trainers and Pokemon competing. I just don't want to get my hopes up-"

"No! No no no! Clemont! That's not how to look at it at all! Never never never!" Korrina suddenly hit her fist on the table in front of her. She looked seriously at Clemont, and although there was no anger in her voice, she still sounded kind of intimidating. "You have to _know_ that you're going to win. You didn't act like you didn't want to get your hopes up when you battled _me._ You seemed ready to win."

"That was...different," Clemont muttered, eyes widening a bit as he said that. He couldn't exactly explain how it was different, but he once again was quite happy that Bonnie and Shauna weren't there to bug him at the moment.

Korrina didn't seem to catch the meaning behind his words, though, once again shaking her head. "You can win this thing, Clemont. Make sure you believe it. Do you think I'm planning on letting those guys at Laverre beat me when we battle them next week? No way! I know I'm gonna win."

Clemont had almost forgotten about the IPL, with the tournament coming up. Not to mention, he hadn't even considered the fact that Korrina would be going up against Anton and the others at Laverre. "Do you know about that trainer, Anton?" he asked, curious about how much Korrina had prepared.

"We've got a plan to beat him," Korrina said confidently, leaning back and looking a little more relaxed at the change in topic, obviously excited to talk about her IPL team. "My grandfather seems to know him, and he says he knows a good way to get him and the rest of Laverre off their game."

Clemont wasn't so sure about that, but he just smiled at Korrina's confidence. From what he'd seen, Anton knew how to get into his opponents' heads better than anyone. Of course, Gurkinn had the Shalour team well prepared for Lumiose's arrival, so perhaps he did have something ready for Laverre. Clemont laughed, starting to understand Korrina's point about being more confident about his future battles. "I'm looking forward to hearing about your win."

"And I'm looking forward to hearing about yours!"

* * *

"So it's called the Bond...Phenomenon?" Dawn asked, scratching her head in confusion as they headed down the hallway of the training facilities to the battlefields. "Well...I guess that's why Professor Oak didn't seem to know too much about it. I don't think I ever heard anything about something like that when I travelled through Kanto."

"I've never heard of anything like it, either," Ash said, pushing open the door as the two of them, with Clemont trailing behind them, entered the battlefield area, noticing the rest of their friends up ahead. "I knew the people in Ninja Village loved Greninja, but I had no idea that that was where it first came up. I wonder if they might know anything else."

"Professor Sycamore probably got everything he could out of them," Clemont pointed out. "It seems like there's still plenty of research to do when it comes to it."

Dawn nodded, although she was sure Ash was happy to at least have a little bit of clarity on what it was. "At least you know what to call it," she pointed out to him. "And maybe now that you know even just a little about it, you can still work on it some more."

Clemont laughed at that. "If anyone can somehow make that form stronger, it's Ash."

When they finally reached their friends, Ash apparently deciding to wait before explaining the whole Bond Phenomenon thing to them, Dawn could feel the excitement emanating from them all. This would be their last chance to train before the tournament started the next day, and they were all ready to get things going. It was definitely going to be an interesting weekend. Dawn was just hoping she and Scatterbug would be able to keep up. Her newest bug type had the energy, that was for sure, but she just wanted to make sure it had the discipline.

"Ready to get some training in?" Ash started off, Rowlet slowly hovering out of his bag, but immediately perking up as he noticed Clemont calling out Turtwig, who not so casually started to make his way over to Serena, apparently smelling pokepuffs. Riolu, who was at her side, nervously watched the grass type, looking nervous at the sight Turtwig's wide, hungry eyes. Dawn didn't blame him.

Everyone was quick to call out their own Pokemon in answer. Dawn looked over to Marie as she called out Scatterbug, noticing her friend excitedly holding up her pokeball and calling out her new Fletchling. Ash was quick to take note, walking over as Fletchling perched itself on Marie's shoulder.

"Wow, that's a strong looking Fletchling," he said, smiling at the little flying type. "I'll have to get Talonflame here at some point. I bet they'll get along great."

Marie's eyes widened at that, and she looked almost as excited as she'd been when she'd actually caught Fletchling. "That'd be so cool, Ash!" she almost shouted, looking at Fletchling, shaking with excitement. "Fletchling, you can learn all kinds of amazing flying moves. Talonflame was one of the best fliers in the whole Kalos League."

Ash rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little embarrassed at the praise for his flying type. "Haha, thanks. Talonflame definitely worked a lot on his flying skills." He then looked up to Rowlet, who looked ready to get started as he exchanged a challenging look with Turtwig. "And I guess that's something we should continue doing with you, Rowlet. If you can control the battle from the air, you'll be tough to beat. How about you and Fletchling train with us, Marie?"

Marie seemed pretty pleased with that idea, and the two of them quickly set off to a battlefield, Ash quickly calling out his Hawlucha and Noctowl to join in. Riolu followed, clearly excited upon seeing Hawlucha. Soon after that, Serena and Shauna set off to another field, while Tierno and Trevor did as well. This left Dawn and Clemont, the two deciding they might as well train together and heading to the field next to Ash and Marie, and Tierno and Trevor. Dawn took a quick glance over at the mock battle Tierno and Trevor were having, noticing Trevor's Mudkip struggling with Chimchar's dancing.

"Anything you're hoping to work on?" Clemont asked, as he took his place on the battlefield, Turtwig standing in front of him, the grass type glancing over as Ash's Rowlet demonstrated a perfect Peck attack for Marie's Fletchling.

"I think I just want to get used to using Scatterbug some more," Dawn said, calling the bug type out of its pokeball. She'd trained pretty hard with Scatterbug the last couple days since catching it, but she knew she still had plenty of work to do if she wanted to have any chance in the tournament. Luckily, she seemed to have a good idea of Scatterbug's style, which she had confidence she could work with.

"All right, how about a practice battle then?" Clemont suggested, Turtwig looking towards Dawn and Scatterbug as he realized what his trainer had said.

Scatterbug seemed interested in the idea, so Dawn nodded, giving a thumbs up to her newest Pokemon as they got in battle position. Piplup gave a little cheer from his spot next to her, giving his full support to his newest teammate. "Okay, Clemont, you take the first move!"

Clemont nodded, watching Scatterbug a moment and then exchanging a look with Turtwig. "Turtwig, start off with Tackle!"

"Slow it down with String Shot!" Dawn countered quickly, noticing Scatterbug tense up quickly as Turtwig started to approach.

"Scatter scatterbug!" Scatterbug quickly crouched low, making itself a small target in case Turtwig was able to get close and change attacks, making sure to stay cautious. Then, as Turtwig began to close the gap, it fired off the silky rope, the web striking Turtwig in the centre of the head and causing him to stagger to the side and come to a stop, unable to properly see.

"Now, pull down and use Tackle!" Dawn ordered, wanting to see just how quickly Scatterbug could take advantage of an opening like this, against a skilled trainer like Clemont.

Unfortunatley, Clemont was quick to act, and he and Turtwig were starting to understand each other very well, so their reaction time was quite fast. "Break off with Bite, and then use Leech Seed!"

"Twig!" Turtwig shouted excitedly, opening his jaws wide and then biting forward and snapping off the stringy webs that stuck to his head, just as Scatterbug pulled and began to charge forward. Dawn clenched her fists as she noticed the poor bug type fall into a vulnerable position, Turtwig's seed firing out. Scatterbug could only look up in surprise as the seed struck and exploded in vines all around it.

"Awww, I thought we had you there for a second," Dawn said, the two of them pausing so she could head out to remove the vines from the irritated looking Scatterbug. Clearly the Scatterdust Pokemon had a short temper, as it had shown against Team Rocket, and it wasn't happy about allowing even one attack to hit it.

"I think you had the right idea," Clemont told her, kneeling down next to Turtwig and petting the grass type on the head, a rare moment of normalcy for the pair. "You and Scatterbug will be quicker once you get to know each other better."

Dawn shrugged at that, finally pulling away the rest of the vines and picking Scatterbug up and looking it in the eyes. "Yeah, we'll be fine, right Scatterbug?"

"Pip piplup!" Piplup added, smiling up at Scatterbug, who seemed pleased by the declaration its trainer was making.

"Chim chim charrr!"

Dawn jumped a bit at the sudden noise, looking over to see Tierno's Chimchar doing cartwheels around the battlefield and firing Ember attacks at Mudkip. The Mud Fish Pokemon was clearly overwhelmed, struggling to follow and being hit repeatedly. However, Chimchar's aim wasn't exactly great, missing a few times and sending a few small balls of flame into the other battlefields, one barely missing Ash's Rowlet as it dove to the ground to clash with Hawlucha, which caused the Wrestling Pokemon to shout in anger at the dancing fire type.

Unfortunately, Chimchar appeared to be so into his dancing, that his recklessness not only continued, but seemed to be getting worse. Tierno didn't seem to really notice, either, obviously into some kind of routine that he'd prepared with his fire type. Dawn took a quick glance at the fields her friends were training on, noticing they'd all either stopped their sparring, or were at least distracted by Chimchar's yells. Trevor, who was in the middle of trying to command Mudkip, also seemed to be noticing things were going a bit too far.

"Charrr!" Chimchar seemed to be wrapping up his ultimate dance, though, jumping from side to side and then spinning around and firing a particularly large fireball towards Mudkip. Unfortunately, Mudkip managed to dodge to the side and the attack, with so much force behind it, went sailing past the Mud Fish Pokemon's side and out towards the next battlefield. The battlefield where Dawn and Clemont were.

"Pip!"

Time seemed to move slower in that moment, Dawn's eyes widening as she noticed the Ember attack approach Piplup. She felt Scatterbug squirm in her arms, though, and a second later, the bug type was glowing faintly, a pink outline around its body. Then, as the Ember was just about to strike Piplup, the Penguin Pokemon's body had the same pink glow around _his_ body. The attack struck then, sending Piplup staggering backwards. Fortunately, though, it didn't seem to hurt him too much, and he quickly got to his feet, looking up at Scatterbug in surprise.

"Wow," Clemont said, sounding surprised, walking over to Dawn and looking curiously at Scatterbug. "Dawn, I think that was Scatterbug's ability."

"Its ability? What was-"

"Scatter scatterbug!" Scatterbug suddenly jumped out of her arms, glaring out towards Tierno and Chimchar, the two of them finally having realized what had happened and looking over in surprise.

"Sorry Dawn!" Tierno called out, looking pretty guilty. "Is Piplup okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Dawn said, looking over at her partner Pokemon, who nodded in answer. Of course, Scatterbug didn't seem so willing to forgive. Suddenly, the bug type jumped up into the air in front of her, the rope of web firing out towards Tierno and Chimchar from the other battlefield. "Scatterbug! Stop!"

"Chimchar!" Chimchar was quick to respond, sending out another Ember attack, which clashed with the String Shot between the two battlefields, the webs burning away quickly.

Both Dawn and Tierno quickly rushed over to their Pokemon, holding on tight to them to make sure they didn't fire off any more attacks. It didn't stop either of them from trying, though, each squirming in their trainers' arms and doing their best to attack again. Fortunately, Marie was able to help, her Jigglypuff quickly hopping over to each Pokemon and singing quickly in their directions, putting both Scatterbug and Chimchar to sleep.

Dawn sat back after that, as she and her friends sighed in relief. She could see Ash looking over with a smile on his face, looking surprisingly excited. For a moment, she wasn't sure why, but as she looked over to Tierno, his own eyes shining with excitement as he looked back, a challenging expression on his face, she realized why.

It was always good to have a rival to help you grow. And now, Scatterbug appeared to have one.

 **Author's Note:**

And with that, we've got another little rivalry started. Will Scatterbug help Dawn avenge her loss to Tierno from the IPL tryouts? Guess we'll find out soon enough.

As for Ash-Greninja in the little abilities test that Sycamore had, I wanted it to be a dominant win. Not because Ash is going to easily get past everything he faces now, but because he's essentially out of that funk. He's ready for his next real battle, and even though it won't involve Greninja, he'll be a threat.

So...tournament starts next time, in Chapter 34: Sycamore's Mega Tournament Part 1


	34. Sycamore's Mega Tournament - Part 1

**Author's Note:**

Hey all you wonderful people. Apologies, a busy week. But part of the reason for that is a special announcement. Some of you may remember that around September/October 2016, I had another story going, called, "Pokemon - Generation Bonnie - Hoenn Alone", starring, of course, Bonnie from the XY series, going on her own journey. Well, due to a variety of circumstances, it was cancelled. However, for a while now, I've been planning a reboot. So, I'm pleased to announce that "Generation Z - Hoenn Alone" will be arriving on FanFiction and Wattpad in early 2018! And yes, I'm sure some are worried how that'll affect this story. Well, I'm hoping this'll continue with weekly uploads, maybe more, until it's finished. And the Bonnie story, well, chapters 1 and 2 are done. I'll be ahead on that before publishing, so it shouldn't affect my schedule too much.

As for what I've got to show you in regards to the Bonnie story, you can check out some character profiles and the preview of chapter 1 on my Twitter account. The username is KingPoliwag (if you don't know, it's a long story in regards to that name). I've been looking forward to getting back to the adventure genre again so hopefully some of you can enjoy that when it comes out.

Anyways, as for LU, it's time to get on with the tournament!

 **Chapter 34: Sycamore's Mega Tournament – Part 1**

"For anyone attending the Lumiose University: Sycamore Mega Tournament, please head to the main battlefield just next to the training facilities." The announcement blared out from the speakers put up near the park, easily heard by everyone in the surrounding area. Of course, most of the people did seem to want to hear it, so they didn't seem bothered by the noise. "Plenty of seating is available, but you'll need to be there soon to get the best seats."

The streets were a bit chaotic as Meowth, Jessie, James and Wobbuffet struggled to find a target so that they could execute their plan. They hadn't been able to find anyone that looked enough like Jessie, or James, in order to sneak themselves into the tournament, so they were making a last minute attempt to try and find _someone_. If they failed at that, they had decided they were just going to do a direct strike during the tournament, after waiting for the Pokemon to get tired out.

"None of these twerpette students are nearly as beautiful as me!" Jessie hissed, glaring at three girls who passed by, each looking just as unimpressed with Jessie as she was with them. "How am I supposed to act like one of them if they look so hideous?"

"Maybe it's not dem dat's da problem?" Meowth muttered, luckily not heard by Jessie as she walked off ahead, looking near a little store that sold trainer supplies, where some people seemed to be heading before they went to the tournament.

"If that Nurse Joy twerpette wasn't a friend of those twerps, we could've used her," James said, sighing in disappointment. "Jessie's got a good Nurse Joy disguise."

"She's too short. Besides, we also gotta make sure we can smuggle in one of our Pokemon. Don't wanna be usin' some weak one like she's got." Meowth had seen one girl who had her own Gourgeist earlier in the day, and thought it would be a good way to get Jessie into the tournament, but Jessie had been too picky about how she would've had to do her hair.

"We'll need to find someone pretty soon," James pointed out, looking over at a pair of trainers with a Charmander and a Krabby, clearly trying to decide if they were worth targeting. "Attacking a big group of trainers doesn't usually go well for us."

Meowth thought on that for a moment, listening to a couple of people who sounded like they were probably going to just be spectators. "It's going to be an exciting tournament!" one of them was saying, a jump in their step as they walked along. "I can't believe the winner is getting a Key Stone!"

The thought hadn't really occurred to them to just go after the prize, but Meowth supposed the boss would probably be happy enough with them if they were to bring him a Key Stone. Although...if they could bring him that, plus a whole bunch of Pokemon, he would reward them with a big promotion for sure. _I'll be da top cat. Persian will be gone soon enough._

"James! Meowth!" The two of them jumped at the sound of her voice, each of them stopping and staring in her direction, causing Wobbuffet to crash into them from behind. When they managed to get back to their feet, a few people staring curiously at their clumsiness, they quickly made their way over to Jessie, who had stopped near a bench which looked out over a little park across the street.

"What is it, Jess?" Meowth asked, feeling hopeful by the excited look in her eyes. She immediately told him to be quiet, grabbing him, James and Wobbuffet and shoving them forward to get a better look. She pointed ahead, and when Meowth saw what she was pointing at, he immediately started to feel uneasy.

"Meowth, use Fury Swipes!"

"Mrrrow!" the Scratch Cat Pokemon in the middle of the park shouted in response. It leaped into the air, its claws extending as swiped at an imaginary foe relentlessly. As its attack ended, it flipped back, landing on two legs, but stumbling back a couple of feet before regaining its balance.

A trainer then rushed forward, laughing as she hugged her Meowth, praising it for performing the attack well and encouraging it despite its weak landing. It was definitely a student at the school, looking to be about the same age as the twerp and his friends. The most striking thing about her, however, was...

"She looks like Jessie!" James whispered, the shock clear in his voice. "I mean...if you make your hair a little curlier and wear sunglasses and put on that silly pink hat..."

"She's our target!" Jessie confirmed, her gaze going to Meowth. "And if she's entering this tournament with a Meowth, that means you have to battle."

"But I'm not much of a battler," Meowth complained, feeling more and more uneasy with this plan as time went on. "And if we go up against the twerp..."

"No buts!" Jessie said quickly, grabbing James' hand and forcing him to hold onto Meowth. "Now, let me take care of this!"

Meowth was never really surprised at some of the disguises and quick changes Jessie could do, but this was particularly impressive, as she suddenly popped out from behind the bench they were hiding behind, now wearing a dark blue wig, glasses and a white lab coat. Meowth recognized it as the outfit of one of the assistants of that Professor Sycamore. He immediately had an idea of what Jessie was planning here.

"Excuse me!" she called out, making her way over to the student. "Young lady!"

"Huh? Oh hi Miss Sophie!" the girl suddenly called out, turning around as she noticed Jessie approaching her. She might've been able to see through the disguise if she wasn't so distracted with her Meowth, but obviously they weren't going to complain. Of course...if she knew the assistant well enough...

"Drat!" Meowth muttered, forgetting for a moment about his uneasiness about battling. Now that the plan seemed to be in motion, he didn't want them to get caught and have _no_ chance of succeeding. This was the best they had now.

"Hold on," James whispered, watching closely. "Jessie can pull this off."

As Jessie finished making her way over to the girl, Meowth noticed a few people staring curiously at him and James who were still hiding behind the bench, and they quickly moved over to sit on it normally. James pulled out a newspaper so that they appeared as nondescript as possible, carefully holding it so that he could look over and watch Jessie.

"I'm afraid I don't remember your name," Meowth heard Jessie say to the girl, flinching at the comment, sure that it would give her away. Fortunately, though, the girl appeared to buy it.

"I'm Julie! I'm in your Status Effects class."

"Oh yes! I remember, now!" Jessie lied, looking surprisingly comfortable in her fake teacher role. Meowth supposed she'd probably enjoy sneaking into one of those classes one day, just to have a classroom full of students watch her as she put on some kind of performance.

"So...what's up?" the girl, Julie, asked after a moment of silence, while Jessie looked curiously at the Meowth next to her, who was now grooming itself.

"Oh...um, well...Julie," Jessie started awkwardly, before straightening up and raising her voice. "I take it that you are busy training for the tournament?" When Julie nodded, both Meowth and James perked up, the latter quickly stopping Wobbuffet from doing some kind of awkward, loud cheer. "Due to so many trainers registering in the tournament, I have been asked to collect a few of them to complete a screening battle at Prism Tower. If you are unable to win, you will no longer be eligible for the tournament. Your battle will be against my colleague...Jameson...and his Inkay."

"Okay!" Julie said cheerily, seemingly pleased about the supposed screening battle. "It'll be a good chance for me and Meowth to get ready for the real tournament! My friends who were supposed to enter had to go away for the weekend, so I want to make sure to win it for them."

"What a shame!" Jessie said, pretending to be...sympathetic? Meowth didn't know it was really possible for her to do it, but she seemed to at least do a passable job of it. "No one will be there to watch you!"

"Yeah, but I'll win for sure!" Julie declared, jumping up and pumping her fist. "All right, Meowth, let's go and win that battle! Thanks Miss Sophie!" With that, the magenta-haired girl pulled out a pokeball, quickly recalling her Meowth, before running off in the direction of Prism Tower.

As soon as she was out of sight, Jessie had a bag out and was quick to work on her next disguise, while Meowth, James and Wobbuffet made their way over to her. As soon as they reached her, she looked up as she ripped off her wig while starting to curl her own hair and slipping on a pair of purple sunglasses. "James! Get to Prism Tower now! Beat that girl with your Inkay! If she wants to go back to where the tournament is, come up with some kind of excuse to stop her. We can't have her causing any problems."

James appeared like he wanted to say something, but apparently decided against it as he turned around and headed off in the same direction as the Julie girl. Meowth watched him for a moment, before turning around and noticing Jessie finishing up her disguise. He noticed her crouching slightly, attempting to look shorter, but other than that, she'd done quite a good job of her disguise, slipping on purple coat and blue jeans, to go with the purple sunglasses and pink hat. It wasn't exactly like something she'd wear for a Performance, but it suited her well enough, and she looked a lot like the girl she'd just tricked into going to Prism Tower.

She quickly called Wobbuffet back into his pokeball and looked at Meowth. "All right, Meowth, you better do your job. Let's win that Key Stone for the boss, and steal some Pokemon while we're at it."

* * *

"Ready to do this, Rowlet? We're gonna win this whole thing!"

"Kooo!"

Serena smiled to herself as she watched Ash and Rowlet start to get psyched up. She could almost feel his excitement as they prepared to finally get things started, the collection of trainers competing in the tournament now assembled just outside the main battlefield near the training facilities. An earlier announcement from Professor Sycamore had informed them that sixty-four students were competing, which would require six rounds, the first two being today and the rest tomorrow.

As they waited for the matches to be determined, and for the battlefield setup to be completed, Serena and the others were doing some last minute pep talks with their Pokemon. She and Absol weren't as loud as Ash, or Tierno, but Serena still made sure to give some words of encouragement to her partner for this tournament. It was a big test for the two of them, to see Absol's progress in his physical recovery, and also how they worked together on a big stage. She just hoped they wouldn't have a repeat of what happened during the IPL, although Absol seemed to be getting much more comfortable now that he had more freedom to move around.

"You and Absol look ready to go, Serena," a voice suddenly spoke up next to Serena, and she turned, seeing Dawn come up to stand next to her. The Coordinator definitely looked ready herself, Piplup in her arms wearing some kind of costume, while an intimidating looking Scatterbug sat on her shoulder.

"We've done all the preparation we could," Serena answered, smiling down at Absol. "Now we just have to see how we work together. How are you and Scatterbug feeling?"

Dawn shrugged, looking up at the bug type, who was now glaring over at Tierno's Chimchar, who was busy dancing. "I think we're both anxious to get started. Scatterbug's a lot stronger than it looks, but all of that energy is a bit tough to control with the waiting. We seem to get each other, though, which I wasn't expecting so soon."

Just as Serena was about to reply with a comment on some of the training she'd noticed Dawn and Scatterbug doing the day before, a commotion was heard near a small stage that had been set up, with a big screen that displayed a big collection of pokeballs. Serena noticed Professor Sycamore now standing on the stage, looking out at the gathered group of students. Some people didn't seem to notice his arrival right away, but everyone did quiet down quickly once he held up the prize of the tournament.

The Key Stone sparkled in the sunlight as Sycamore held it out so everyone could see it, before he put it away again. "Welcome, everyone, and thank you for waiting," he said, now having everyone's attention. "It's an exciting morning here at Lumiose University. In fact, it's quite an exciting weekend. It's finally time for us to begin the Sycamore Mega Tournament!"

"Yaaah!" the crowd cheered, clapping and yelling out in excitement. A few of the Pokemon who were out even fired off a few attacks into the air. Clearly this was not just a tournament Serena and her friends were excited about. She could now hear the crowds at the battlefield cheering as well, supposing they'd probably just received a similar announcement.

When the gathered trainers finally quieted down, Sycamore continued, looking over at the screen with the dozens of pokeballs scattered over it. As he spoke, Serena finally realized what that was, noticing the pokeball images flipping over and revealing rows of pictures of the students. "All right," Sycamore said, "as you can see, all sixty-four trainers are here on screen. As mentioned earlier, this means we will have a total of six rounds in the tournament, the first two being today. In order to make sure the first round goes a little quicker, the main battlefield will be split in two for round one, and two battles will take place simultaneously. For the second round this afternoon, and onwards, you will have the use of the entire field."

Serena wasn't exactly disappointed by that, although she could hear a few disgruntled whispers. At least for her, it would force her opponent to stay closer to Absol, which might limit the amount of movement he had to do early on. They'd have to be ready for the larger field in round two if they made it, but at least this would warm them up a bit. She smiled as she realized she was starting to think like Ash, analyzing the advantages she would have in her upcoming battle. She glanced over at him, knowing he was doing the same as he looked up in thought.

"In order to determine who moves on of course," Sycamore continued cheerily, "we'll need to determine the winners of round one. Please turn your attention to the screen as we determine the matches of the first round."

Serena's gaze went to the screen, now seeing the pokeball symbols flip over to reveal the pictures of the competing trainers. There appeared to be two columns, each with sixteen rows with two pictures side by side. Before Serena could spot hers, though, they all began to shuffle around the screen, going too fast for her to even try to follow. It was fairly quick, though, and a moment later, the matchups were revealed.

Serena spotted her picture, next to a trainer's she didn't recognize. She then scanned the screen to see where the rest of her friends were. In her column, Ash, Shauna and Marie were all there, each facing an unfamiliar trainer as well. Marie looked to be in the first match, which Dawn mentioned quickly. In the other column, Trevor, Tierno, Clemont and Dawn were also up against unfamiliar trainers. It was a relief to know none of them would have to face each other and all of them had a chance to move on, but it was also a bit less interesting.

That didn't last long, though, as a loud voice, sounding oddly familiar, spoke up behind their group. "Ha! A Nurse Joy twe- I mean, a Nurse Joy wannabe battler! This will be easy! Let's win this Meowth." Serena and her friends glared over in the direction of the voice, seeing a tall girl with magenta hair, wearing a purple dress, sunglasses and a pink hat, a Meowth at her side. She looked kind of familiar now that Serena was looking at her in person, actually appearing somewhat older than in her picture. One thing was for sure, though. She was irritating. "Try not to bore me too much!" she shouted over at Marie as she walked towards the path where Sycamore and an assistant were calling over the first trainers.

Marie actually seemed more stunned than anything, clearly never having expected to experience...trash talk. Her gaze went over to Ash, obviously in the hopes that he had some kind of advice for how to deal with someone like that. Serena was pleased as he instantly approached Marie, looking confident. "Don't think about what she's saying, Marie," he said, Pikachu and Rowlet nodding from his shoulders. "You and Fletchling just have to worry about yourselves. You're here to grow stronger together, so you've already beaten someone like that, who's just here to make herself think she's better than you for no reason."

Listening to his words, Serena knew right then and there, that _this_ was the Ash she admired so much. He really was back. His words brought a smile to Marie's face immediately, and she looked to Fletchling as it flew to her shoulder slowly, ready to set off to their battle. "Let's just do our best, Fletchling, okay?" Her voice shook a bit, but she obviously wanted to see what she could do.

"Fletchling fletch!" the Tiny Robin Pokemon chirped out, also seeming nervous, but putting faith in its trainer.

With that, Marie waved to her friends, taking a deep breath and heading over to where Sycamore was waving her through. It still seemed like she was shaken, though, walking a little slower than usual as she headed off. It concerned Serena a little, but she knew she couldn't do anything right now. She and the others waited a moment, and then they started to follow the rest of the trainers who were heading into the stadium to find seats while waiting for their own battles.

When they got in, Serena could see Marie lining up against her opponent on the battlefield to the right side of the field. She and her friends then heard someone calling out to them, looking over to see that Clemont's father and sister were there, already having found seats. Clemont seemed just as surprised to see them there, but when the group sat down, Meyer explained that Bonnie had really wanted to go, so they'd decided to come.

"You better win, big brother!" Bonnie told Clemont seriously. "I wanna see you get a Key Stone! Then you can make that Korrina girl _really_ impressed."

"I think she's already impressed, Bonnie," Shauna laughed out.

"Clemont can't feel too safe," Bonnie muttered, causing Clemont to groan as he sat as far away from his sister as possible, while Ash and Serena sat next to her. Unfortunately for Serena, sitting next to Bonnie might not have been the best plan for her, either. "So, Serena," the little blonde girl whispered, gaze moving over to Ash, "how are you and Ash doing?"

Serena quickly tensed up at the question, knowing what Bonnie was implying and she quickly looked over at Ash, relieved to see him watching as Professor Sycamore headed out towards the middle of the field, between the two smaller battlefields. "We're...doing well," Serena said quietly, looking suspiciously at Bonnie as she smirked back.

Luckily, Sycamore began to speak out to the crowd before Bonnie could say anything else, and everyone quieted down fairly quickly. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," he began, looking at the separated battlefields, seeing the first four trainers ready to get started. "Today is an exciting day as we're about to begin the first annual Sycamore Mega Tournament, which will be taking place today and into tomorrow. I'm sure we're all excited to see how these young trainers are bonding with their Pokemon. This tournament will be a great way to show off that bond, and, of course, the winner will be receiving their very own Key Stone, so that one day, they will be able to truly unlock the power behind that bond with their Pokemon."

The crowd cheered at that, along with many of the trainers. Serena noticed Ash almost shaking in excitement next to her, although she was sure he was just excited about the battling, rather than getting the Key Stone. She wondered what the motives were for the other trainers competing here were. She hoped that, like her and Ash, it wasn't just about powering up their Pokemon. Learning to work with Absol was far more important to her. Of course, as she looked at the opponent that Marie was up against, Serena could see that unfortunately, not every trainer saw things the same way.

"Now," Professor Sycamore added, looking once again between the two battlefields, "to open up our first round, which will take us down to thirty-two trainers, we'll have two battles being fought simultaneously. Here," he gestured to the battlefield on the left, "we have Jackson and Matt. And over here," he gestured to Marie and her opponent, "we have Julie and Marie. Wish them luck!"

The crowd cheered loudly at that, as two referees came out. Serena watched Marie and Fletchling, seeing the young Joy tensing up as she looked across at her opponent, Julie. She was about to comment on the Meowth looking kind of familiar, but just then, Sycamore made one last announcement, declaring the tournament officially started, causing the crowd to cheer loudly once more. Her gaze then went to the referee, watching as he stepped forward between the two trainers.

"This will be a one on one battle between Lumiose students Marie and Julie, and their Pokemon Fletchling and Meowth. The winner will be declared when the opposing Pokemon is declared unable to battle. Are you ready?" Both Marie and Julie signalled that they were, their Pokemon preparing to move, Julie's Meowth looking a little awkward, but still pretty fierce. Marie was still looking tense and nervous, staring around at the crowd a bit, but clearly there was no turning back now. Then, the referee, both theirs and the one calling the other battle, signalled for the matches to start.

"Let's go, Meowth! This twer- I mean, wannabe is no match for me! Use Fury Swipes!" Julie shouted out, sounding even more familiar.

"Meowwwth!" her Meowth cried out, sounding a little awkward in its call, almost like it wasn't used to saying, "Meowth." It rushed forward towards Fletchling, who Marie had surprisingly not ordered to do anything. When it reached the flying type, Meowth's claws extended and slashed outwards, swiping at the Tiny Robin Pokemon relentlessly.

"Why isn't she doing anything?" Bonnie asked, looking up at Serena as Meowth's attacks struck Fletchling, sending it staggering back until it fell over in front of Marie, chirping from the pain. Serena wasn't sure, watching Marie as she looked somewhat frozen while Julie and her Meowth laughed from their side of the field, Meowth's laugh sounding pretty strange, almost like it was...a human laugh.

"It's her first real battle," Ash pointed out. "Obviously that Meowth is a bit more experienced. She can't just freeze, though. There's always a chance to win if you just try."

"Now, Meowth, use Scratch!"

"Ye- Meowwwth!" Meowth cheered, seeming to enjoy this battle as it started to get going a little more. Now that it seemed to have the early advantage, Meowth was ready to end this battle quickly. Serena knew Marie needed to act quickly if she was going to have any chance.

She remained frozen, though, watching in fear as Meowth once again leaped forward, slicing at Fletchling's wing as it got up and attempted to get into the air. Serena could see from Meowth's movements that it wasn't really that skilled of a battler, but it definitely seemed capable enough that it could quickly attack the less experienced Fletchling. Once again, Fletchling was struck hard, falling back to the ground quickly as Meowth took it down.

"HAHA! You can't even call an attack! You're even weaker than I thought!" Julie laughed, her Meowth joining in.

"Marie!" Ash called out, getting the attention of the novice trainer. "You have to relax! Don't let her get in your head. Just pretend you're training with Rowlet and me again. It's not that much different. Just focus on you and Fletchling."

Serena wasn't sure if he was getting through to Marie as well as he'd gotten through to _her_ in her screening battle, but Marie's struggles were definitely starting to get the crowd a little less interested in the battle. A few people near her started watching the battle on the other field, a much closer fought battle, involving a Litleo and a Honedge. Another group of students seemed to be mocking Marie, laughing as they watched her struggle to make her first order. Bonnie gave them a menacing glare, though, that immediately shut them up.

"Fl-Fletchling, use Peck!" Marie finally shouted, bringing Serena's attention back to the battle.

"Fletch!" Fletchling cried out, flapping its wings to get higher into the air, before diving down towards Meowth, who looked up with narrowed eyes. It looked to be both amused, likely due to its early advantage, but also a bit nervous, like it hadn't had much success in battles before.

"Stop it!" Julie shouted out, not giving a proper order, and revealing she wasn't too used to battling with this Meowth. However, it did seem that it was enough, the Meowth jumping up again and swiping its claws at Fletchling as it dove down. The little bird was spooked off course immediately, flying out of the way and towards the ground, leaving it completely open for Meowth as it descended back down, claws extended. "Fury Swipes!" Julie yelled excitedly. Serena got the sense this girl didn't win often, despite her overconfidence and high opinion of herself.

"Ha! Meowwwth!" Meowth cried out, slashing repeatedly at Fletchling as it landed, again sounding strange as it seemed to be laughing along with its awkward cries.

"Poor Marie," Dawn muttered from her seat next to Shauna. "She was so excited about this, but she just seems so nervous. It must be really scary for her to have this big crowd watching her first battle. I wish we could do something."

But as they watched, Marie once again trying to call out an order, her nervous commands not making it easier on the already overwhelmed Fletchling, it was clear that they _couldn't_ do anything. Ash, Serena and Dawn all tried to encourage her, but each attempt was more futile than the last. It seemed to be the most frustrating for Dawn, who had seemed quite impressed with Marie's determination in catching Fletchling. The bluenette Coordinator almost seemed to have tears in her eyes as Fletchling was struck once more by a barrage of Fury Swipes before being sent down hard to the ground by a Scratch attack.

Julie's taunts didn't make it any better, along with the crowd losing interest in the match, and many of them commenting on Marie's poor battling. It had Serena and the others almost feeling like they were losing another IPL match, and that was not the way they wanted to feel at this tournament, where they'd been hoping to just have fun with their Pokemon and each other. Bonnie and Meyer certainly seemed pretty frustrated by the surrounding crowd as well, with Bonnie having to be restrained by her father as another group of students started making fun of Marie.

Serena was hoping that Sycamore would do something about Julie's taunting, though, however he looked to be quite engrossed in the other battle, which seemed to be in its last stages as the Honedge appeared to be finishing things off. She supposed there wasn't really much that could be done anyways at the moment. No, the way to silence Julie would be to beat her. Her and her obnoxious Meowth, who seemed to be joining in on the taunts.

And when Julie finally had her Meowth use the finishing blow, mocking Marie as she did so, the novice trainer looking like she was about to fall over from embarrassment and fear, Serena made a vow to herself. Watching Fletchling fall down, unable to rise, while Marie weakly pulled out her pokeball and the referee made the call, Serena and her friends glared at Julie who laughed at Marie as she walked off the field.

"The crowd was just too much for her," Ash muttered, watching as Marie slowly turned around, starting to head over to them, head down, while an assistant called out for the next battlers through a megaphone. "I should've warned her about it. I guess I just don't notice it when I'm battling."

Serena nodded, watching Marie sadly as she approached. She wanted to win for the rookie trainer. Serena knew she and Absol could do it. They'd put a smile back on Marie's face, and they'd show her how a large crowd was nothing to fear. Even though Absol still had a bit of work to do there as well, Serena knew he'd be fine, as long as they kept trusting one another. But together, their goal was to bring smiles to people's faces. And even though they were battling and not performing in this case, they would do their best to do that for Marie.

* * *

"Kooo!"

Ash pumped his fist triumphantly as Rowlet easily slid past the opposing Haunter's Shadow Ball and sent a barrage of spinning leaves towards it. The battle was over in seconds as the Leafage attack ended, revealing Haunter floating a couple of inches above the ground, not moving.

"Haunter is unable to battle! Rowlet is the winner! Ash will move on to the next round!"

"Yeaaahhh!" Ash cheered as Rowlet flew back down to him, the two of them exchanging a high five, Rowlet using his wing to meet Ash's hand midair. He was really starting to excel in his flying abilities, the training with Hawlucha and Noctowl having been on full display in that battle. Ash couldn't have been happier, always taking pride in his flying types being among the best.

He noticed Rowlet suddenly back away a moment later, though, which caused him to lower his hand, following his owl's gaze as he looked towards the other field. He smiled, seeing Clemont and Turtwig finishing off their own battle, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon charging down a Machop and hitting it with a hard Tackle attack, while it strained against the vines of an earlier Leech Seed. The Tackle, along with the drained energy from Leech Seed, seemed to do the trick, the Machop falling to the ground while the referee made the call.

"Hooo," Rowlet hooted out softly, looking pleased that his grass type rival had moved on as well. He was clearly determined to meet Turtwig in battle at some point in this tournament.

"Awesome," Ash added, as Rowlet landed on his shoulder, "now everyone's made it to the second round. Well...almost everyone. At least we have Marie to cheer us on, though, and I bet she can learn a lot from seeing all these battles."

The two of them, after Ash quickly shook hands with his opponent, started to make their way back over to their group. As they approached, Pikachu, who had been sitting with Serena, along with Riolu and Hawlucha, came running up to Ash and Rowlet to congratulate them. Hawlucha in particular seemed quite proud, folding his arms and nodding sagely to Rowlet as the latter hopped down and flapped his wings in a mini demonstration of his mid-battle flying.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted out as he jumped up onto Ash's shoulder, nuzzling his trainer's face happily, clearly just as proud of his trainer as Hawlucha was of Rowlet.

"Haha, thanks Pikachu. It was a group effort, though. Rowlet really managed to use some of those techniques we were working on with our training. That Shadow Claw from Haunter would've been hard to handle if he hadn't figured out to avoid it like with your Iron Tail."

"You were great out there, Ash!" Serena suddenly called out, as Ash looked up to see the rest of his friends now up. Marie was still fairly quiet, but she seemed to smile as she and Bonnie were playing with Dedenne off to the side. Dawn, Tierno and Trevor were greeting Clemont as he got back, while Shauna stepped up next to Serena.

"Thanks," Ash told her, "but I don't think I did nearly as well as you. You and Absol look like you'll be really tough to beat." He wasn't just saying that, either. Serena had gone up shortly after Marie's defeat, and while Absol had appeared to look uneasy about the crowd like he had been back in Shalour City, Serena was able to keep him calm, and the two of them worked together flawlessly. It was like Serena was on a mission, and Absol seemed to sense it, easily overwhelming the Electrike they were up against by using a swift combination of Detect to dodge a barrage of electric attacks, and then moving in with Dark Pulse and Psycho Cut. It was much like the style Absol had used against Fantina when he and Serena had sparred with her, and Ash could tell Serena was quickly getting used to working with him.

"Yeah, Serena, Ash is right!" Shauna said, nudging Serena and giggling a little. "I bet he was watching you closely, too."

"Of course!" Ash confirmed, nodding, although he was a little confused as Pikachu sighed from his shoulder and Serena's cheeks went bright red. He realized he was getting pretty hungry, so he assumed it was just his stomach. "We should probably get something to eat before the next round starts."

His friends seemed agreeable to that, and before long, they were all heading over to a small burger stand that had been set up just outside the stadium. Nurse Joy was there as well, handing out Oran berries to all the trainers and checking up on any Pokemon that looked to be a little tired. Not surprisingly, Turtwig was quick to grab himself a couple extra berries, while also making an attempt at some hamburger buns, before being pulled back by Bonnie, who he surprisingly seemed willing to listen to.

When they were all eating, conversation turned to the next round of the tournament, everyone excited to get to battle with the full use of the field this time. Tierno, who had been somewhat limited in his first match with his dancing, seemed most excited, him and his Chimchar giving a small demonstration of what they planned to do in their next battle. Of course, Dawn's Scatterbug wasn't impressed, as it started to prepare a String Shot attack, only to just barely get stopped by Piplup.

"I wonder if we'll get to battle each other this round," Serena said, eyes travelling over to where Sycamore and a few of his assistants were talking, an unfamiliar stocky man with a white moustache and tanned skin with them. He left a moment later, though, as Serena continued. "Things have already been narrowed down quite a bit so there's a pretty good chance of it now."

"It'd be awesome if we got to battle each other!" Ash exclaimed, shaking his fists in excitement just at the thought of it. He really wanted to see how his friends were progressing from the perspective of a battle. He could only know so much from just watching.

"I think...Scatterbug...is pretty...excited...about that...too," Dawn said, struggling to speak as she held the bug type tight in her arms while it tried to squirm out to go after Chimchar, who appeared to be taunting it with his tongue out.

They continued talking about the potential battle scenarios in front of them, growing a little more impatient as the time went on and they waited for the next round to get started. Ash was glad to see everyone get so excited about battling, especially Serena and Shauna, who weren't exactly known for it. He felt pretty bad for Marie, though, watching her a moment as she sat quietly with her Fletchling. He noticed Serena looking over as well, a strange look of determination in the Performer's eyes. They both seemed to want to say something, but Ash wasn't sure what to say, and he could see Serena was a little unsure as well. At that moment, though, the announcement for the beginning of the second round interrupted them.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Sycamore's voice rang out. He was standing on the podium from earlier, the screen up next to him displaying the thirty-two remaining trainers in the tournament. "Please assemble here so that we can arrange the next round of battles."

There was quite the commotion as the competing trainers, along with some of the ones who must've been eliminated, made their way over. As he and his friends made their way over, Ash noticed Marie's opponent, standing near another strange looking older student with blue hair, looking almost like he was hiding his face. Ash wanted to say something to the girl, but before he could, his friends were pulling him along so they would be closer to Sycamore as he spoke.

It was fairly noisy, a few people who hadn't gone back to the battlefield standing around to watch as the next round was set up, however, Sycamore's megaphone was loud enough, and after a couple of calls for attention, it was quiet enough for him to start. "Congratulations to all of you who have made it to the second round!" he shouted out, the assembled trainers clapping and cheering. "We've already seen some impressive battling skills, and the growth of your Pokemon is evident, along with the skills you've learned here at Lumiose University. I can tell that whoever emerges victorious and wins the Key Stone will be able to make good use of it."

Ash looked up at Rowlet upon hearing that, smiling at the owl as he puffed out his chest proudly. The Grass Quill Pokemon was definitely motivated to win this, that was for sure, and Ash was proud to see him doing so well. He would definitely deserve a good night's sleep tonight. He hadn't even tried to sleep in Ash's backpack yet today.

"So," Sycamore continued, now with everyone's attention on him, "now that we are down to thirty-two trainers, we will be using the full field and to conclude the day's matches, we will have the final sixteen battles. We have randomly arranged the remaining trainers into a bracket, which we'll now show on the screen. Each side was split according to which battlefield you were fighting on in round one."

The crowd went silent as the screen lit up, showing the bracket with the thirty-two pictures at the bottom, with empty slots above it that narrowed down to sixteen, eight, four, two and then one for the eventual winner. Ash's side, which included Serena and Shauna, as well as the girl who beat Marie, was on the right. Again, they were battling trainers they didn't know, although Ash could see that if Serena won, she could be battling Julie the next round. On the other side, Clemont and Dawn were on opposite ends, both battling unknown trainers, but then Ash's eyes widened as he noticed the pictures a couple away from Dawn.

"Trevs! It's you and me!" Tierno shouted happily, although his friend didn't seem quite as excited, only offering a nervous smile in return. Ash could see that if anyone was truly disappointed by the news of their battle, though, it was Dawn's Scatterbug, who was once more being taunted by Tierno's Chimchar, who seemed to enjoy sticking its tongue out at the feisty bug type.

With everyone figuring out their opponents, and when they would be battling, Sycamore was quick to get things moving along, and before long, everyone was heading back into the arena, and to their seats. Ash could sense the excitement of the crowd as the first two trainers headed out onto the field, with their Pokemon out in front of them. With the full battlefield available now, it definitely had the feel of a much bigger event, like the IPL, and with the pool of sixty-four trainers already being reduced to thirty-two, things were heating up.

The first match was fairly short, with one trainer using their Growlithe to surround the field with flames and force the opposing Wartortle to stay in the centre, limiting its movement, despite its many attempts at using water attacks to extinguish the flames. Eventually, a powerful Wild Charge finished off the match, sending the Wartortle into the flames where it emerged unable to battle.

While the next match was on, the one before Trevor and Tierno, Ash could see the two best friends getting themselves ready for their match. While Trevor did seem nervous, and less excited than Tierno was, Ash could tell that he was much more at ease than he was when they'd battled in the IPL tryouts. The orange-haired trainer was looking through his camera, seemingly going through pictures of Tierno's Chimchar, somewhat reminding Ash of Sawyer going through his notebook before battling Ash. He had a feeling it would be a close match, and he knew Dawn's Scatterbug would be watching closely to see what Trevor could expose out of Chimchar. Or maybe, the bug type would have to wait a while before getting a chance to even battle Chimchar if Trevor did well.

The crowd was definitely warmed up when the next match ended, with Sycamore's announcement for Trevor and Tierno to take their places being barely audible. Ash and the others leaned forward excitedly as their friends made their way onto the field, Tierno and Chimchar doing a couple of cartwheels before coming to a stop on their side, while Trevor and his Mudkip were much more restrained. While Ash knew Tierno seemed to have a tougher battle style to contend with, he'd been impressed with Trevor's battle in the first round, his IPL teammate having made excellent use of Mudkip's Mud Slap to defeat the opposing Plusle.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen!" Sycamore called out. "We've got an exciting match up next, with two Kalos League competitors from last year's Lumiose Conference, as well as important members of the Lumiose University IPL teams! Get ready for this match between the two friends, Trevor and Tierno!"

"Yeaaahhh!" the crowd cheered, many people around Ash and his friends seeming to recognize the pair on the field from the Kalos League, particularly Tierno, who'd gone quite far.

The referee then stepped forward, holding up a flag as he looked between the two trainers. "This will be a one on one battle between Trevor and Tierno. The winner of the match will be declared when either Mudkip or Chimchar is unable to battle. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready to move and groove!" Tierno shouted, his Chimchar spinning around on the ground as he did.

Trevor simply nodded, and with that, the referee waved the flag, and called for the match to begin, stepping back quickly as both trainers instantly called out their first attacks.

"Mudkip, Water Gun!"

"Ember!"

The two Pokemon leaped into the air in the exact same moment, each sensing the desire of their trainers to win this battle between best friends, and likely determined to get the best of one another as friends themselves. Chimchar's ball of fire fired out just a little quicker than Mudkip's small jet of water, but neither attack hit its target, both colliding a few feet in front of Mudkip, steam shooting up into the air upon contact.

"Get in close with Scratch!" Tierno ordered, doing a pirouette as Chimchar did, the fire type dodging another quick Water Gun from Mudkip and then charging forward. Ash saw both Trevor and Mudkip freeze up a bit, watching Chimchar approach with speed, doing a quick cartwheel and then jumping forward at Mudkip and slashing outwards.

"Kip!" Mudkip whined, staggering back as Chimchar swiped at him once again, dropping low and spinning just before he struck, mimicking his trainer who was doing some kind of breakdancing or something.

"Quick Mudkip, use Mud Slap!" Trevor ordered, managing to recover fairly quickly, watching Chimchar as he slashed out at Mudkip. Mudkip executed the move well, quickly jumping back and balancing on his tail, before flinging it upwards and sending a spray of mud into Chimchar's face, causing the fire type to stagger back, hands over his eyes.

"Charrr! Chim chim char!" Chimchar complained, head down as he did his best to wipe the mud away. Ash's eyes went to Trevor, knowing this was his chance to take the advantage in this battle. The photography enthusiast clearly felt the same.

"Mudkip, Tackle! Then use Water Gun!" Trevor shouted, holding on tight to his camera as he pointed ahead. Mudkip quickly righted itself from its previous attack, and then ran forward. The crowd gasped as the Mud Fish Pokemon reached Chimchar, just as he seemed to clear the mud from his eyes. The Chimp Pokemon was sent flying back, bouncing along the dirt of the battlefield, his and Tierno's dance routine interrupted with Trevor now taking control. As soon as Chimchar started coming to his feet, Mudkip sent out the jet of water, striking the fiery monkey in the chest and sending him staggering back yet again, before falling on his back.

"Wow, Trevor's doing really well," Marie commented, seeming impressed with how he had managed to calm his nerves in comparison to her own issues with that in her battle. Ash remembered the IPL tryouts, and how Trevor had struggled with his confidence at first. It was definitely good to see him take charge in this battle. He was also excited to see just what Tierno could do to even things up, something that Dawn certainly seemed confident about.

"Tierno's not done yet. His dancing style can't be dealt with _that_ easily."

Tierno was quick to prove her right, with Trevor ordering a Tackle from Mudkip that Chimchar was able to spin away from with a perfect little pirouette. Tierno then called for an Ember attack aimed at Mudkip's feet, putting him off balance and opening things up for another couple of swift Scratch attacks.

"These two are definitely going all out, as are their Pokemon!" Professor Sycamore commented from the sidelines, the crowd cheering in agreement. "Will Trevor's precise attacks be able to break through the unpredictable dance moves of Tierno and Chimchar?"

Ash was shaking with excitement as he watched the two friends step it up, Mudkip and Chimchar clashing once more with a Water Gun and Ember attack midair that blew steam and dust out across the field, followed by a clash of Scratch and Tackle and Ember and Mud Slap. It was clear that despite using some less experienced Pokemon, these two were well above the level of the majority of trainers competing at this tournament. Only experienced battlers would've been able to maximize these Pokemon's abilities the way they had. Ash couldn't wait to see how he and his other friends matched of against one another when it was their chance.

"Scatter..." As Chimchar slid past a Tackle from Mudkip, sending an Ember attack into the water type's back as he darted past, Dawn's Scatterbug grew more and more restless in her arms. It was clear how much it wanted to be out there, testing its strength against Chimchar. Ash knew Dawn was capable of getting a lot out of it, just based on her first battle with it, but he knew both the Pokemon on the field would be tough to beat.

"Chimchar, use that rhythm and use Scratch again!" Tierno shouted, the intensity in his voice showing this battle was on another level.

"Don't make it easy! Use Mud Slap!" Trevor yelled, punching the air enthusiastically. Despite the loud crowd, the two trainers were in a world of their own, with just them and their Pokemon battling it out, no matter how tired they seemed to be getting as the battle continued.

"ChiiimCHARRR!" Chimchar screeched, cartwheeling around the field, spinning on his back and then leaping towards Mudkip, ready to strike.

"Kiiip!" Mudkip shouted in answer spinning around to meet his foe, striking the upwards with his tail and sending the spray of mud up towards Chimchar.

That's when Ash realized the match was finished. Mudkip's spin had him off balance, hoping to deflect Chimchar's attack with the Mud Slap. Unfortunately for Trevor, Tierno's Pokemon was ready, curling up and spinning up and over the spray of mud, just before descending and slashing out at Mudkip, sending it sprawling backwards.

"Now, Ember!" Tierno ordered, as Chimchar landed, doing a pirouette and inhaling before sending out the fireball towards the Mud Fish Pokemon. Mudkip cried out as it was struck once again while attempting to stand, the fire attack sending it back to the ground. Ash knew the next attack would do it. "One more Scratch attack!" Tierno called triumphantly.

"Charrr!" Chimchar shouted, leaping forward, spinning in midair and then descending down to deliver the finishing blow.

While it was disappointing to see one friend lose, it was also exciting to see the other win. And Trevor didn't seem to have any regrets about how he'd battled, he and his Mudkip accepting the handshakes from their opponents with pride **.** Ash knew that this match had set the standard for the rest of the tournament, and he knew his friends could see it, including Trevor and Tierno who were starting to make their way off the field as the next two trainers took their places.

If you couldn't understand your Pokemon, yourself and your opponent, you would have a tough time winning this tournament. And, as Tierno and Trevor had shown, you didn't need a high-powered, experienced Pokemon to display that kind of strength. To win this tournament, the remaining trainers had to find that connection with their Pokemon that would truly make them worthy of the desirable prize at the end of it all.

 **Author's Note:**

Well, round one is done, and round two is well underway. I know those battles might've been...a little underwhelming, but trust me, I wanted the next stages of the tournament to be the big the stuff...which I guess might be obvious. Anyways, Marie's struggles has a purpose that'll show up soon enough. Not huge, but reasonably important. And Trevor vs Tierno was more of a buildup for the next stage of the tournament. Things are at another level now.

See ya next time.

Oh, and congratulations to the Pokemon anime for 1000 episodes. Not bad.


	35. Sycamore's Mega Tournament - Part 2

****Author's Note:****

Welcome back, all you wonderful people. It's time for part 2 of the Sycamore Mega Tournament! The top 64 round is complete, and the top 32 is wrapping up at the beginning of this chapter, before we move on to the top sixteen and quarterfinals. Hopefully you enjoyed Marie's battle debut and the matchup between Trevor and Tierno last chapter, and in this chapter, hopefully you'll enjoy another couple of crucial matchups.

But first, we've got a visitor to introduce properly. Let's see who it is...

 **Chapter 35: Sycamore's Mega Tournament – Part 2**

The crowd's cheers were deafening as the final battle of the day concluded, putting the tournament's remaining competitors down to the final sixteen, who would be battling it out tomorrow. The original sixty-four had been cut down to just a quarter of the trainers who had set their sights on winning the tournament and receiving Sycamore's Key Stone.

Unfortunately for Shauna, the crowd's cheering was in her opponents favour, as her Gothita had been unable to match the Beedrill her opponent had countered with. Serena could see her friend wasn't too disappointed, though, as she headed back to where the group was sitting, smiling at the performance she was able to give. It had never been about winning for her, either, and she'd been happy to prove herself in battle well enough against a trainer who had actually finished fairly close to making the IPL team behind Ash, Clemont and Trevor in the tryouts.

"Congratulations to all those trainers moving on to the final sixteen tomorrow!" Sycamore's voice called out to the crowd, just as Shauna quickly sat down next to Serena. "And to those who were unable to move on, don't be disappointed in how you performed. You have all progressed at least a little with your Pokemon, and this experience will help you move forward together."

"Yeah, even though I lost, I'm pretty happy with how I did," Shauna whispered over to Serena, who noticed Marie listening in. "I wasn't _that_ experienced with battling before anyways, so at least I gave it a try and learned a few things for my performances. That Poison Sting that that Beedrill used might be something Ivysaur could work with if Flabebe helps out."

Serena smiled at that, spotting Marie look down in thought out of the corner of her eye. That made Serena think of her own experience in this tournament, and what was next for her. The large screen above the seats of the arena had the bracket displayed, showing the matchups for the remaining sixteen trainers. And, right next to Serena's picture, was Julie's, the girl who'd utterly embarrassed Marie, taunting her with no regard for the rookie trainer's feelings.

"Tomorrow," Sycamore's voice started again, breaking through Serena's thoughts, "we will have three rounds in the morning, with the top sixteen round, the quarterfinals and the semifinals narrowing us down to the final two, who will battle it out tomorrow afternoon for the Key Stone."

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Ash exclaimed at that, his gaze also going to the screen displaying the matchups. Serena had a feeling she knew what he was thinking, especially as he looked back at her, a bit of a challenging look in his eye. _Just two more wins, and it's Ash and me._

Sycamore was quick to wrap things up after that, simply warning spectators to arrive early to get seats before the tournament resumed the next day. Following that, he made his way off the field while the crowds followed suit and stampeded towards the exits. Serena and the others were a little more patient, though, waiting in their seats for the crowds to thin out. Only a few other people seemed to be doing the same, including a couple of Sycamore's assistants, who were joined by the unfamiliar man that had been with Sycamore earlier.

Ash was the first to get up when things had calmed down a bit, he and Pikachu looking ready to get going with the next stages of the tournament already. "I can't wait till tomorrow!" he shouted, making his way forward and standing at the edge of the field. "Rowlet, you did an awesome job today!"

The Grass Quill Pokemon was pleased with the compliment, hooting happily from his spot where he sat with Hawlucha, Riolu and Absol. It seemed to encourage him as he quickly flapped his wings, getting himself up in the air, before doing a few spins in a mock attack and then launching himself into Ash's backpack. It was remarkable how quickly he fell asleep, his head just barely poking out at the top.

"One of us needs to win this now that we've gotten so far," Tierno said, getting up as well. He didn't seem as energized as Ash, his battle with Trevor having tired him out a bit more, but his excitement was noticeable. "Five of us are left out of the top sixteen, and we all have a chance to make the quarterfinals too. Then me and Dawn might get to battle!"

"I think Scatterbug would definitely like that," Dawn laughed out nervously. Her bug type was in its pokeball, getting a well deserved rest after surprisingly dominating its match against a Taillow earlier on. While it didn't necessarily look like a threat, that little bug was fierce, and seemed to get by on guts alone. Not to mention Dawn already had it moving smoothly like a well-trained Coordinator's Pokemon. A bit more work, and they'd be a fierce team, beyond this tournament.

"I wonder if Ash and Serena are going to get to battle each other," Shauna pointed out, giggling as Ash looked at Serena excitedly. "If you two keep winning..."

"I hope so!" Ash said, looking over at Absol, who stared back curiously. "I want to see just how far you and Absol have come. You're looking like the team to beat here!"

"I'm not sure about that..." Serena said quietly, trying to hide her face as she felt her cheeks heat up.

"You kids wouldn't be talking about that Absol, would you?"

They all jumped up a little in surprise at the new voice that broke in. Serena's eyes went over to where it came from, just behind Ash, seeing a large man with the moustache and blue shirt covered by some kind of a yellow robe. He was the man that had been with Sycamore earlier in the day. Despite the cool air outside, it almost seemed like he was dressed for the beach, his robe patterned with white flowers opened up and looking quite comfortable in his white shorts. He definitely looked like he'd been in the sun, with his tanned skin.

"He's yours?" the man said to Serena. It was stated like a question, but obviously he'd seen Serena battling with Absol and knew the answer. Serena nodded as the man stepped up next to Ash, smiling as he noticed Rowlet in the backpack. "Ahh...nice to see a little something from home."

That quickly got Ash's attention, and he looked up at the man curiously. "Wait...does that mean...you're from-"

"Alola, yes!" the man laughed out loudly, looking quite happy to talk about his home. "My name is Hala, the _Kahuna_ of Melemele Island in the Alola region. It's nice to finally meet the famous Ash Ketchum that I've heard so much about!"

"You've heard of me?" Ash asked, looking a little embarrassed as he exchanged some confused looks with the others. Serena wasn't too surprised, though. Considering Ash's league success and word of Greninja's special form spreading, more people were probably learning about him. Particularly someone who seemed to be in a position of authority, which Serena assumed a "Kahuna", as Hala had called himself, was.

"Yes," Hala said simply, reaching over and gently scratching Pikachu behind the ear, much to the electric mouse's delight. "In fact, you're the reason I'm here. Professor Kukui wasn't able to make it, so he asked me to come in his place. I'll be busy with the Grand Trials when I return, but from what I know, this trip should be worth it. Professor Sycamore certainly had a lot to discuss with me. Still does."

Serena had a feeling she knew what Hala was here for now, Clemont speaking up just before her. "You're here about the research Professor Sycamore is doing about the Bond Phenomenon! About Greninja!"

Hala smiled at that, rubbing his moustache as he chuckled a little. "Yes, among other things," he said, looking over at Serena for a moment, before turning his attention to Ash. "Of course, a few other interesting research opportunities have arisen since I arrived. I must say, Ash, I'm very impressed with how you've trained your Rowlet. Alolan Pokemon are a unique breed, but you've certainly bonded quite well with him. I've been quite impressed with all of your battles in fact." He seemed to make a point of looking at Marie as he said that, causing her to look both confused and embarrassed. Serena was sure he wasn't being mean-spirited, though. He seemed pretty knowledgeable about Pokemon.

"All of us?" Tierno asked, looking excited to hear what Hala had to say about his own unique battle style.

Hala gave out a booming laugh at that, pointing at Tierno enthusiastically. "Ah, yes! You, Mr. Tierno, would be great friends with Kiawe back home! And I'm sure he'd be very impressed with that Chimchar of yours."

"Lucha luchaaa," Hawlucha muttered, looking like he wasn't as impressed with the dancing, preferring his own battle theatrics.

"Mmm, and who's this?" Hala asked, eyes lighting up as he stepped forward, looking closer at Hawlucha. "Looks like a strong fighting type!"

Hawlucha proudly posed at that, while Riolu rushed to his side to join in, getting another laugh out of Hala. Ash took note of that, an interested look in his eyes. "You like fighting types?" he asked, the idea of a battle obviously on his mind

"Indeed," Hala said, absentmindedly rubbing a strange looking item around his wrist. "They really pack a punch!"

"In that case-"

"Kahuna Hala! There you are!" Once again, everyone's attention was diverted to the direction of the voice that had called out. It was Professor Sycamore, looking a little flustered as he approached Hala. Serena bit back a laugh, having a feeling that Hala had wandered off to talk to them, rather than heading to do whatever it was that Sycamore needed him for. The nervous smile Hala gave Ash was further proof of that.

"Sorry, Professor," the Alolan said, turning to Sycamore, "I was just curious to meet Ash and his friends, here. A fine group of young trainers you've got here."

Sycamore smiled at that, looking over the group for a moment. "Yes, they're definitely quite the group." He seemed to decide he might as well give a full introduction at that point, telling Hala each of their names and then finally stepping back and looking at him. "Hala here, is what they call a 'Kahuna', in the Alola region. Something like a Gym Leader, but Alola's customs are a little different. They don't even have a Pokemon League yet!"

"Yes, we're a little unusual compared to some of the other regions," Hala admitted, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Although we do hope to have a league at some point. Professor Kukui was actually planning a trip to Kanto and Johto fairly soon to discuss some things with Champion Lance and the others. Speaking of that, I'll need to have a chat with Agatha and Flint at some point while I'm here."

"They're actually meeting with me at the lab," Sycamore informed him, the expression on his face making Serena think he'd informed Hala already. "We should probably be heading over there."

"Right," Hala nodded, looking back to Ash and then the others. "I look forward to seeing the rest of your battles, and hopefully we'll get another chance to chat. Ash and Serena, I'd like to speak to both of you at some point this week, if you aren't too busy with training and classes. We might even be able to discuss Greninja a bit with Professor Sycamore."

Ash agreed right away, but Serena took a moment. Not because she wasn't willing, which she was, but more so because she had absolutely no idea why Hala would want to talk to her. Regardless, after a quick look at Ash, who smiled encouragingly, she nodded. "Sure, whenever you'd like."

"Very well then!" Hala boomed out, patting Ash on the shoulder before he and Sycamore set off.

As she watched them go, Serena could feel her friends' eyes on her, while her mind scrambled trying to think of what Hala would want or need from her. All she knew, was that things were probably about to get even more interesting around here.

* * *

There was a clear sense of excitement among Ash and his friends as they headed to the meeting place for the remaining trainers just outside the arena the next morning. They'd all been a bit tired out after all the battles and excitement yesterday, but now they were fully refreshed and ready to get going with another day. As much as Ash, and he assumed Serena as well, was excited and interested in knowing what Hala wanted to speak with them about, he knew the tournament was priority number one at this point. He and Rowlet had done well so far, but they would need to step it up to another level to beat the rest of the competition. Things wouldn't be getting any easier.

And as they stopped at their destination, Ash could see Serena looking up at the screen displaying the next round's matchups. Obviously she knew things were heating up as well, and he could see her eyes narrowing as she looked at the pair of pictures belonging to her and Julie. He was confident that she would manage to win this one for Marie, but he had to wonder what kind of tricks Julie might try to take advantage of Absol's weaknesses if she noticed any, the way she'd easily been able to control the battle with Marie once she'd shown her fear.

"Twerpette." Ash turned his head at the sound of the voice, noticing Julie walk by like she hadn't even noticed them, although making sure to look as far away from Serena as possible, obviously having directed her comment at her.

"You'll beat her, Serena," Ash told the Performer confidently, glaring in Julie's direction. "I know you and Absol can do it."

"Yeah, you'll have no problem!" Marie added. She looked a little more upbeat now that she knew one of her friends was going to battle the opponent that had put her down, and Ash was definitely glad she had a little extra something to cheer for now.

Serena smiled at their words, clenching her fists a little as Sycamore appeared, making his way up to stand before the crowd of trainers. Everyone went quiet fairly quickly, their excitement making them desperate to hear every word as the next matchups were about to be announced.

"Welcome to the remaining sixteen trainers, and their friends and guests!" Sycamore called out, as he looked over the crowd. "Yesterday, we started with sixty-four of you, and now, only a quarter remain, having earned your way into the top sixteen. Making it this far, is a great accomplishment in and of itself. However, I know that you seek to make it even further with your partners, and I'm sure you'd all like to get started as soon as possible, so that we can get onto the quarterfinals, semifinals and, of course, the exciting final match."

The trainers all cheered at that, Ash looking excitedly up at Rowlet as he popped up out of his backpack and onto Ash's shoulder, looking ready to get started with the battles again. "Let's keep winning, Rowlet!" Ash told his emerging star Pokemon. "You've done great so far, so let's keep getting stronger together!"

"Kooo!" Rowlet hooted out excitedly as Sycamore began speaking once more.

"So, to start the day's matches, we will begin with the first matchup of the top sixteen round!" he called out, looking out across the group of trainers. "We have eight matches to complete, and after a brief break to recharge the Pokemon, we'll be able to get started with the quarterfinal matches soon after."

Ash looked over to Serena once hearing that, as the trainers around him started whispering excitedly while Sycamore announced the first matchup. He could see Serena looking over at Julie once again, her fists clenched at her sides. Ash was definitely excited to see how she did, although he didn't want her to get too worked up. That would be exactly what Julie wanted.

A few minutes later, Ash and the rest of the group joined the rest of the trainers as they made their way to their seats in the stadium. Ash quickly noticed Bonnie and Meyer and he and the others quickly joined them, Bonnie apparently having received permission to hold onto Clemont and Shauna's Skitty. Everyone was fairly restless, but the first match didn't include anyone from the group who remained, so they watched on as the first two competing trainers made their way onto the field.

It was a fairly close match, and probably more exciting than Ash gave it credit for, but he was so excited about seeing his friends battling, and getting to battle himself, that he wasn't really paying as much attention as he normally would. He was pretty sure that the eventual winner, a trainer using a Nidorino, would be no match for Clemont, who would be their next opponent if he won his top sixteen match.

When it _was_ finally Clemont's turn to go, Ash was far more focused, he and Rowlet watching very closely as Turtwig managed to pull off a powerful combo attack of Leech Seed, Razor Leaf and Tackle. It finished off a fairly dominant match for Turtwig, who easily managed to overpower the opposing Diglett.

After Clemont's battle, Dawn was up next, her and her Scatterbug again giving an impressive performance. Ash could see Tierno watching as he gripped at Chimchar's pokeball, ready to go for his next battle, which would be next. If he won, he would face Dawn in the quarterfinal match. He definitely had a lot to contend with, though, as Dawn's Scatterbug was making perfect use of its String Shot to keep the opposing Dustox away, before finishing the match with Stun Spore and Bug Bite, all executed with the grace of a Coordinator's Pokemon, which seemed to impress Serena and Shauna.

When Tierno went up next, it was obvious how much he wanted to move on, so that he could finally get that match between his Chimchar and Dawn's Scatterbug. He and Chimchar moved in perfect sync as they put on their best dancing routine yet for the whole tournament. Chimchar smoothly avoided every attack the opposing Marill threw at him, and unleashed a barrage of Ember and Scratch attacks that ultimately won him the match.

Everyone in their group cheered loudly as Tierno was declared the victor, all of them knowing that his win guaranteed that, at the very least, one of their group would be fighting in the semifinals, with Dawn and Tierno set to meet in the quarterfinals. Now all Ash and Serena needed to do was get into the final eight as well, and there would be a very good chance that one of them would win the whole thing. But first, it was finally Serena's turn to face off against her opponent in _this_ round.

"Our next matchup will be Serena against Julie!" Professor Sycamore announced, signalling for both trainers to take their places on the battlefield.

"Good luck, Serena!" Marie said, grabbing Serena's wrist and looking seriously at her. "Beat her for Fletchling, okay?"

Serena smiled, nodding and turning around to head off to her spot on the field. Ash could see just by the way she was walking that she wasn't going to hold back anything in this battle. Like everyone else in their group of friends, she wanted to get some revenge for Marie. Ash thought she was the perfect one to actually battle Julie, though, even if _he_ had imagined getting the satisfaction of beating her himself. Serena seemed to truly be doing this for Marie and Fletchling, and he knew that she wanted to show Absol the joy in performing for others. Even if this wasn't a performance, he was sure Serena could pull it off anyways.

"Meowth, go!" Julie shouted, her Meowth running forward to stand in front of her, doing another strange "Meowth!" call, that just didn't sound right coming from its mouth. The more Ash watched that Meowth, the more he felt it wasn't right that it was battling here. He shook his head at the thought, though, watching as Serena threw her pokeball out next.

"Absol, come on out!"

"Sssooolll!" Absol roared out loudly as he emerged onto the field, standing tall and menacingly as he looked across the field at Meowth, who took a couple of nervous steps backwards. Ash smiled, noticing Absol quickly glance over at Marie. Obviously Serena had talked to him about this match, and Ash was definitely interested to see how it would go, and what they had planned.

There was a brief moment of silence before the referee stepped forward, raising a flag, about to call the start of the match. Of course, not surprisingly, Julie had to make some kind of insulting remark about Serena and Marie first. With Sycamore seeming to pay more attention this time, though, she did seem to hold back a bit.

"That Absol looks poorly trained. Clearly not very elegant like my Meowth, who would never try to yell out like that. What should I expect from a friend of the twerpette I beat yesterday, though?" She and her Meowth laughed at that, the latter looking quite pleased by the comment about him being "elegant". Ash was pretty sure both of them knew that was stretching it quite far, though.

Serena wasn't as easy to get off her game as Marie, though, not even flinching at Julie's words, and just watching the referee as he finally signalled for the match to start. She was immediately calling out her first order for Absol once the signal came. "Absol! Psycho Cut!"

"Knock it away with Fury Swipes!" Julie shouted, laughing with surprising confidence as the pink, crescent-shaped attacks sailed towards Meowth. Even though it had looked poorly trained yesterday, Ash could see that the two of them had built up some confidence. Serena would still be able to win, but she would have to be careful.

In a surprisingly performance-like way, Julie's Meowth leaped forward, extending his claws as he slashed at the Psyscho Cut attacks that were fired towards him, slashing each with some quick Fury Swipes and shattering them into pink sparkles that rained down around him, making the crowd gasp in awe, almost like they thought they were watching a Performance. Ash noticed Serena look a little surprised by that, but clearly she wasn't too fazed, as she quickly recovered and called her next attack, smiling confidently.

"Absol, Dark Pulse! Aim for Meowth's feet and get it off balance."

"Sol!" The Disaster Pokemon looked inspired by his trainer's confidence, quickly opening his jaws and unleashing the swirling, dark energy towards Meowth, the attack crashing into the ground in front of him as he scrambled back, barely keeping himself from falling over.

Julie didn't look happy. "Keep sharp, Meowth! Now, if she wants to play that game, we will too. Attack that beast's legs and send it back to the Pokemon Centre!"

"Sycamore can't allow that!" Dawn muttered angrily, looking like she was about to get out of her seat. "Who'd be that low to try and hurt Absol like that again?"

"He has to let the battle continue," Clemont muttered, not exactly sounding happy with it as they watched Meowth trying to make his way towards Absol, leaping out of the way as the Disaster Pokemon fired off a few Dark Pulse attacks his way. "Absol was cleared to battle. He might not be able to move as quickly as he used to, but he's supposed to be okay to battle. Professor Sycamore can't just stop the match because someone wants to try to attack him where he _was_ injured."

"He'll be fine. Serena's helped him get a lot stronger already," Ash assured his friends, although he couldn't deny a little bit of nervousness creeping into his thoughts. "Absol's not the same Pokemon he was when he was in that Pokemon Centre anyways."

Julie was obviously hoping she could still take advantage of a possible weakness, though, continuously urging her Meowth to move forward. Ash clenched his fists as he saw Meowth manage to roll past another Dark Pulse, getting closer, and making it far more difficult for the dark type to fire off the attack. Serena would need another strategy soon.

"Now, Scratch attack Meowth!" Julie shouted in glee, as Meowth ducked under one last Dark Pulse, putting himself in range.

"Meeeooowwwth!"

"Absol, Detect!" Serena quickly countered. Ash smirked, seeing what Serena was up to now. Marie also gasped excitedly as she saw Absol's eyes flash, just as Meowth pounced, claws extended while he slashed outwards. The dark type smoothly dodged the attack, ducking under Meowth's claws on the first swipe of his claws and then sliding back on the second. Now he was vulnerable. "Double Edge!"

"Sol!" Absol cried out, gritting his teeth as he dug his feet in, ready to charge. Ash, even though confident in Absol's recovery, was definitely surprised to see the Disaster Pokemon put as much strength into his legs as he did. He just hoped it wouldn't overwhelm the dark type.

Fortunately, it did no such thing, and Absol charged forward, driving his head into the centre of Meowth's chest, causing the Scratch Cat Pokemon's eyes to bulge outward as he was sent soaring backwards, before crashing hard into the ground and sliding a few feet before stopping in front of Julie, groaning. Ash quickly looked over to Absol as well, though, wincing himself as he noticed the Disaster Pokemon breathing heavily after taking some recoil damage.

"Is he going to be okay?" Bonnie asked worriedly, looking over at Ash and Clemont with wide eyes. She'd become quite the fan of Serena lately, and thought Absol was, "one of the cutest Pokemon in all of Kalos," even though Absol didn't exactly like that description.

"Yeah," Ash said, although he wasn't entirely convinced himself until Absol managed to steady himself, turning back and giving Serena a nod of confidence, while Meowth managed to get to his feet at the opposite end of the field. "Double Edge gives recoil damage, so Absol took a little bit by using that move. But don't worry," he added, smiling as he quickly looked over at Bonnie, and then Marie as well, who looked twice as anxious, "Meowth took a lot more from that."

Ash couldn't deny that he was impressed with Serena's battling so far this tournament, but she definitely seemed far more focused this round. Even though he had expected that, with seeing how determined she was to face off against Julie, Ash was surprised at how precise her orders seemed. It almost reminded him of Gabby, when she and Serena had performed against each other. However, there _was_ something a little different here. Ash just laughed at the thought, pushing it to the back of his mind. He just wanted to focus on the battle right now, and from what he saw from the smile on Serena's face, and the shine in Absol's eyes, _they_ did too.

"Absol, on the move, and use Detect with Psycho Cut!" Serena ordered, spinning around almost like Tierno. Ash could tell that she was almost getting into a Performance mode the more she got into this battle. He took another glance over at Marie, seeing her holding her Fletchling up as the two watched on in awe.

"Meowth! Pay attention and use Fury Swipes!" Julie seemed to screech, clearly frustrated with the early going of the match.

"Ye- I...Meooowwwth!" Meowth stammered out. The awkward call as he charged forward didn't seem to get noticed by many in the crowd, but Ash immediately looked over to Dawn, who seemed to be having a similar thought. Could it be...?

"Sol!" They both quickly looked back towards the battlefield, seeing the two Pokemon clash mid-field, Absol ducking past a swipe of Meowth's claws, aided by his Detect. The dodge was timed perfectly as his horn glowed a bright pink, just before unleashing the pink, crescent-shaped attack that struck Meowth, exploding against him and sending him crashing into the dirt in a cloud of dust and pink sparkles that shimmered around him in the sunlight.

"Jump up and use Dark Pulse!" Serena yelled, thrusting an open palm forward, much like Ash often did mid-battle the more he got into it.

"Dodge it, Meowth!" Julie screeched, sounding furious.

Unfortunately for Julie, though, Meowth was in no position to dodge, still reeling from the Psycho Cut that had slammed him to the ground. As Absol jumped up, barely looking like he noticed the stiffness in his legs, he quickly aimed down, locking eyes with Meowth, and then he opened his jaws, sending the dark, swirling energy downwards, where it crashed into Meowth, exploding into the ground, and causing dust and smoke to shoot up all around the Scratch Cat Pokemon.

The crowd cheered loudly, led by Marie, Bonnie and Ash, as Asbol landed softly, looking back proudly at Serena, who smiled back. The Disaster Pokemon took a few steps back, staring ahead at the cloud of dust and smoke surrounding Meowth, joined by the crowd as he waited for any signs of movement. Ash could tell that Julie and Meowth were outmatched by Serena at this point, but he wasn't sure Meowth was out of the match just yet.

Unfortunately, that's where Serena made her mistake. "Absol, finish this with Double Edge!" she shouted, pointing ahead, clearly ready to end the match.

"Sol!" Absol cried out, breaking out into a run, just as the dust cloud was clearing up. And, just as he neared the place where Meowth had been hit, Ash could see that Absol noticed the mistake as well.

"Grab onto his legs, now!" Julie suddenly shouted.

Many in the crowd gasped in surprise as Meowth leaped out from the side, diving at Absol's legs and just barely managing to grab hold of his back right one. Ash's eyes widened, seeing Absol suddenly come to a stop, looking almost completely frozen in fear as he felt his formerly broken leg being held onto tightly by his opponent.

"Now, Bite!" Julie yelled gleefully, looking like she was convinced that she had Serena backed into a corner now.

"Meowwwth!" Meowth cried out, sounding just as happy, before opening his jaws and clamping down as hard as he could.

"SOL!"

"Absol!" Serena shouted, taking a nervous step forward, legs shaking underneath her.

Ash winced as he saw Absol drop to his knees, looking paralyzed from the pain. He quickly looked over to Sycamore, wondering if the Professor would put a stop to this, but he just looked too surprised by the sudden attack. Ash supposed he couldn't do anything anyways. Like Clemont said, Absol _was_ cleared to battle. But if he was cleared, it meant he was healthy enough that he should be able to get out of this. Serena just needed to figure out how. Ash could hear some muttering from the crowd around him, many people thinking that Serena had been backed into a corner here, but he was sure she could do it.

And as she looked over to their group, meeting Ash's gaze and then looking over to Marie, who was glaring over in Julie's direction, Ash knew he was right. Serena looked back towards Absol, seeing the dark type wincing in pain, but Ash could see that he wasn't willing to give up, eyes narrowed in determination as he prepared to fight back. The two locked gazes, and Ash could sense the connection between them as they smiled at one another.

"Dark Pulse on the ground!" Serena shouted, Julie's cackling coming to an abrupt stop as soon as the order was made, stunned at the fact that Serena wasn't giving in that easily.

Absol quickly looked down, opening his jaws, the energy forming within his mouth, before firing the attack downwards, the purple and black energy striking the ground and propelling the two Pokemon into the air. Meowth held onto Absol's leg, but Ash could tell that his grip had loosened, noticing the surprise and fear in the Scratch Cat Pokemon's eyes. It was just enough for Serena's next order to give Absol the edge he needed.

"Now, Psycho Cut!"

"Sol!"

With Meowth too surprised by the sudden trip into the air, he didn't notice Absol aiming the pink, crescent-shaped attack being aimed towards him. It was too late once he did, the Psycho Cut striking him in the middle of the chest, loosening his grip just enough so that Absol could shake him off, leaving them both hovering midair for a moment.

"Quick, Meowth! Fury Swipes!" Julie shouted, sounding fearful as she could sense where this was going.

"I don't think so!" Serena answered, smiling brightly as she called the finisher. "Detect! And then Double Edge!"

To Meowth's credit, he gave it his best shot, slashing outward with his claws with all he had in him. Of course, it wasn't enough, with Absol swiftly dodging each strike with perfect, precise movements, his eyes glowing brightly from Detect. Then, he launched himself forward, his body glowing in faint, white light as he slammed his body into Meowth, sending the Scratch Cat Pokemon crashing hard into the ground below, just before Absol landed calmly himself, wincing a bit from the recoil, but looking okay overall.

Ash looked over to Marie in that moment, as the referee stepped forward, raising his arm to call the battle. She and her Fletchling looked overjoyed. And when he looked back towards the field, seeing Julie storming off, holding her Meowth by the tail as it hung there limply, he felt his heart pounding in excitement, watching as Serena embraced Absol.

Their battle was coming soon, and he couldn't wait for it.

* * *

"Nidorino, Poison Sting!"

As Ash laughed next to her, shaking in excitement, Dawn wondered just what he was so happy about, other than his victory last round, her own eyes seeing a pretty powerful looking poison attack about to hit Clemont's Turtwig at a crucial point in the match. However, a moment later, she could see just why he was so confident, with Clemont having clearly been drawing his opponent into a trap.

"Razor Leaf!" Clemont shouted, Turtwig responding immediately and sending the razor sharp leaves flying towards the charging Nidorino.

The glowing, purple point on Nidorino's horn charged through, though, only slowed down a little by Turtwig's attack. Of course, as Dawn, and Clemont and Ash, knew, slowing the opponent down "just a little" could be exactly what you needed in order to win a match.

"Step aside and use Leech Seed!"

"Twig!" Turtwig again acted quickly, ducking low and sliding to the side, just as Nidorino reached him, the poison type running just past him as he dodged. Then, Turtwig bowed his head and fired off the seed into Nidorino's side, jumping up as it exploded into vines around the Poison Pin Pokemon. It seemed to sap some of Nidorino's energy, making the poison type wince, while Turtwig straightened up, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"Bite!" Clemont shouted excitedly, seeing his trip to the semifinals was pretty much won.

Turtwig seemed just as excited, bursting forward and clamping his jaws down on Nidorino's back. The Poison Pin Pokemon shouted once in pain, before slumping to the ground, the vines falling away as it fainted. And as the referee called the match, Dawn and the others cheered the loudest out of everyone in the crowd.

"That's my brother!" Bonnie shouted proudly. "He's gonna win this whole tournament!"

"Well done, son!" Meyer called out along with her, clearly just as excited and proud.

"Now it's you and Tierno!" Ash pointed out, as they watched Clemont and his opponent shake hands. "This is gonna be a great battle. It's like a rematch from your IPL tryouts."

"Yeah, I can't wait to show you my awesome dance moves, Dawn! I beat you once, and I bet I'll beat you again. Your Scatterbug doesn't stand a chance against my Chimchar!"

Dawn narrowed her eyes at that, feeling Scatterbug's pokeball shaking violently in her hands. "We'll see about that, Tierno. I've been training pretty hard as well. And I wouldn't underestimate Scatterbug if I were you. She's been too much for everyone else so far." They'd learned that Scatterbug was female during Dawn's last battle, when the opposing Dustox, also female, had failed in its use of Attract.

"Well, whoever wins, they'll have a tough battle in the semifinals," Serena pointed out, as they noticed Clemont making his way back to the group, while Sycamore stepped forward to make the announcement for the next quarterfinal match. "Clemont's Turtwig is one of the toughest Pokemon here."

"Who would've thought that a couple months ago?" Dawn laughed, as she and Tierno stood, while Sycamore called them up. The two of them quickly congratulated Clemont as they passed him on their way to the battlefield. As Dawn came to a stop on her side, she couldn't help but think about how impressive it really was that Clemont, while still struggling to get Turtwig to calm down sometimes, had managed to turn the energetic grass type into such a fierce fighter. It was much the same with Ash's Rowlet, who was almost always sleeping when Ash got him, but was now willing to put as much of his energy that he could, into training and battling. Not to mention, Serena had turned Absol, a distrustful, and quite literally broken, Pokemon, into a loyal and powerful fighter, who was well on his way to becoming a Performer capable of bringing smiles to the faces of people and Pokemon alike. Looking at Marie and Fletchling right now, there was no doubt about that.

All of them had a big head start on Dawn and Scatterbug. It wasn't going to be easy keeping up with them, having only been training Scatterbug the past week. But...Dawn did feel a special connection with her newest Pokemon. Although the circumstances were quite different, it was, in some ways, very similar to Serena and Absol bonding so quickly back when he'd arrived. They still had to figure each other out a bit, but Dawn and Scatterbug were understanding each other well so far. They weren't at a huge disadvantage, as long as they could use that trust to its full potential.

"Lup?"

Dawn glanced down, seeing Piplup at her side, looking up at her in concern, obviously able to see that she was deep in thought. Across the field, Tierno was calling out his Chimchar, so she knew she had to get ready quickly. "No need to worry, Piplup," Dawn said confidently, holding up Scatterbug's pokeball, which seemed ready to burst open. "We'll win this for sure!" With that, she threw out the pokeball, noticing Chimchar watching with a challenging look. Scatterbug emerged a moment later, and Dawn knew that her bug type was barely able to hold herself back from leaping into battle immediately. "Let's win this, Scatterbug!" Dawn shouted out encouragingly.

"No way!" Tierno answered, him and Chimchar folding their arms smugly. "We'll dance circles around you!"

Dawn just laughed at that, noticing Scatterbug shaking in anger. She knew she could count on the Scatterdust Pokemon to restrain itself enough to use her competitiveness as an advantage. She'd been looking forward to this battle since the start of the tournament, and bad discipline wouldn't prevent her from winning.

The referee raised his arm a moment later, looking between the two trainers and Pokemon. "This will be a one on one quarterfinal battle between Dawn and Tierno. The winner will be declared when the opposing trainer's Pokemon is unable to battle. The victor will move on to battle Clemont in the semifinals. Are you ready?"

"You bet!" Dawn and Tierno shouted in unison, both excited to get their mini rivalry going again, along with the brewing one between their two Pokemon.

"Then let the battle begin!"

"Chimchar, use Scratch!" Tierno ordered quickly, surprising Dawn a little with his fast start, he and Chimchar doing a pirouette before the fire type charged forward, arm raised in preparation to attack.

Fortunately for Dawn, Scatterbug was ready to move just as quick. "Roll away and use Stun Spore!"

"Scatter!" Scatterbug cried out, swiftly rolling itself into a ball and sliding out of the way just in time, Chimchar, skidding to a halt as he missed the Scratch attack. Scatterbug quickly took action, straightening back out and sending a spray of yellow dust out towards Chimchar.

"Use the rhythm, Chimchar! Ember and dodge!" Tierno countered quickly.

"Char!" Chimchar responded, flipping over and doing some kind of handstand as he sent a few fireballs out between him and Scatterbug's Stun Spore, flipping backwards and rolling over to avoid the remains of the paralyzing attack.

The crowd cheered loudly at the brief exchange, sensing the skill the two trainers had. Dawn was just as excited, knowing her and Scatterbug could keep up, as long as they trusted one another. Chimchar and Tierno were quick, and would be tough to hit, but Dawn was sure they had a chance to win this.

"String Shot, let's go!" she ordered, hoping to keep Tierno on the defensive. If they kept him and Chimchar dancing, it would wear them out eventually.

"Roll back and use Ember!" Tierno countered calmly, doing a little flip himself as Chimchar formed the flames and started to roll back, while Scatterbug launched the thick string of web towards him.

The String Shot was just reaching Chimchar as he seemed prepared to launch his fireball back, but just then, the flames seemed to expand, engulfing Chimchar as he started to roll back, picking up speed, outracing the webs chasing after him. Dawn gritted her teeth upon seeing it, noticing Scatterbug end her attack, watching Chimchar jump up, spreading his arms triumphantly as a few embers rained down around him, the flames disappearing from his body.

"Wow! Chimchar has just learned Flame Wheel! This should be an excellent addition to Tierno's dance routine!" Sycamore announced, the crowd gasping in amazement. "Dawn and Scatterbug will definitely need to be careful now."

"Chim chim char!" Chimchar cheered out, clearly quite pleased with himself, even giving Scatterbug a taunting look.

"Awesome! Good job, Chimchar!" Tierno called out gleefully, clearly sensing he had more of an advantage now. "Okay, let's use that new Flame Wheel!" He and Chimchar then both did another pirouette, before Chimchar was once again engulfed in flames. He then started rolling towards Scatterbug rapidly, ready to deliver the super effective strike.

"Scatterbug, dodge and then use-"

It was too late, though, the Flame Wheel picking up speed too quickly. Chimchar reached the stunned Scatterbug in seconds, his flaming body crashing hard into the bug type and sending it flying through the air. Scatterbug crashed into the ground a few feet away, her body smoking a little as she struggled to rise up. The crowd roared in approval at the successful strike, and Dawn knew she was going to be in trouble if she couldn't find a way to deal with that Flame Wheel soon.

"Chimchar, use that rhythm and hit it with Ember!" Tierno shouted, spinning around and mimicking Chimchar as he did the same and sent a fireball speeding towards Scatterbug.

Dawn narrowed her eyes, knowing they could find a way to get out of this, and she could see just where to start. "Scatterbug, jump and use String Shot!"

"Scatter!" Her bug type leaped into the air immediately, the stringy web firing out immediately, hitting the ground in front of Chimchar as his Ember attack just barely sailed past Scatterbug. Dawn watched Tierno closely, seeing if he could figure out her plan. Fortunately for her, even if he did, Scatterbug was moving too quickly. The Scatterdust Pokemon pulled hard on her rope of webs and propelled herself forward. She spun through the air quickly, sliding past another Ember attack that Chimchar sent her way, picking up even more speed as she reached the ground.

"Now, Tackle!"

"Charrr!" Scatterbug hit Chimchar with all the force she could muster, sending the fire type flying back, before he hit the ground, skidding along the dirt for a few feet before struggling to get up. He winced, looking over at Scatterbug with anger in his eyes, clearly not having expected the force behind that Tackle attack.

"A strong response by Dawn and Scatterbug!" Sycamore called out to the crowd. "Maybe this match isn't quite over yet."

 _Not at all_ ,Dawn thought, pumping her fist in satisfaction. "Scatterbug, String Shot again!" Her bug type, using the energy from pulling off her last successful attack, fired off another String Shot quickly, sending it straight towards Chimchar and hitting the fire type in the chest, just before it could get up and spin away in a dance move. "Now, pull back and use Stun Spore!"

"Use Flame Wheel!" Tierno tried to counter, although it was too late, the String Shot taking Chimchar off balance enough so that Scatterbug could interrupt his movement.

"Scatter!" Scatterbug immediately pulled back as hard as she could, before bursting forward and leaping up, releasing a shower of yellow dust that sparkled as it rained down on Chimchar, while the Chimp Pokemn stumbled from the String Shot. The fire type screeched from the discomfort as his body seized up, the paralysis taking hold of him.

"And just like that, Dawn and Scatterbug have neutralized Tierno and Chimchar's dancing routine! It will be hard for them to dance their way out of this paralysis," Sycamore commented.

"Chimchar, hang in there!" Tierno called out, looking less confident than before the match. "Use Scratch and get those webs off!"

"Char!" Chimchar nodded, quickly slashing out and removing the webs with one quick strike, while Scatterbug landed behind him. He turned, looking ready to act on Tierno's next order, but in that moment, his body seized up and he dropped to one knee.

"Quick Scatterbug, use Bug Bite!" Dawn ordered, knowing she needed to take advantage of Chimchar's lack of movement whenever she could. Scatterbug knew it as well, quickly charging forward and leaping up on top of Chimchar's back, before taking four to five quick bites and jumping back, before Chimchar could stand up again.

Tierno wasn't going to give up too easily, though. "We can handle this, Chimchar! Just gotta dance to a slower beat! Use Scratch!"

"Tackle!"

The two Pokemon charged at one another, Scatterbug moving a little faster and managing to slam her head into Chimchar's chest, but the Chimp Pokemon managing to still give the bug type a good swipe across the back. Both cried out in pain, but unfortunately for Scatterbug, Tierno and Chimchar managed to make it worse.

"Now Flame Wheel!" Tierno ordered, doing a pirouette as Chimchar grabbed hold of Scatterbug and did one himself, both of them moving a little slower, Tierno trying to keep their "rhythm" in line with the paralysis.

"ChimCHAR!" Chimchar cried out, his body becoming engulfed in flames before he launched himself forward, rolling along the ground, while still holding on to Scatterbug. He kept it up for a few seconds before finally stopping and tossing Scatterbug away, the bug type's body smoking from the attack.

Dawn gritted her teeth, seeing Scatterbug breathing heavily as it struggled to get up, glaring across at Chimchar. Even if Chimchar was moving slower, they would have to be careful. Just one or two more of those hits, and Scatterbug would be finished.

Luckily, in that moment, Chimchar's paralysis took over again, bringing the Chimp Pokemon back to his knees. Dawn quickly took advantage, seeing Scatterbug notice as well. "Quick Scatterbug! Use Tackle!"

"Scatterbug!" The Scatterdust Pokemon quickly shook her head and charged forward. There was nothing Tierno and Chimchar could do, the bug type slamming hard into the Chimp Pokemon and sending him rolling across the field. He managed to get to his feet rather quickly, though, his body loosening up once more.

"Chimchar, use Ember!" Tierno shouted, kicking out and spinning around while Chimchar did the same, before sending out the fireball in Scatterbug's direction. The bug type managed to duck just enough so the attack just grazed her, but it was enough to slow her down for Chimchar's next attack. "Get in close and use Scratch, and then another Flame Wheel!"

Dawn clenched her fists, seeing Chimchar approaching the tired Scatterbug, knowing her options were limited. She had one plan that could work, though. "Scatterbug, aim String Shot at Chimchar's feet!"

"Scatter!" The white rope of webs quickly shot out, hitting the ground in front of Chimchar as he ran, his feet landing in it a second later. The Chimp Pokemon stumbled, the sticky webs slowing him down even more than his paralysis. Unfortunately it didn't cause him to seize up again, but it gave Dawn the opening she needed.

"Now, surround Chimchar with webs! String Shot!" she ordered, pointing ahead.

Scatterbug seemed to understand completely what Dawn was getting at, quickly launching herself forward and circling Chimchar as he tried to give chase, stumbling over and over again in the webs at his feet. Before too long, though, he was circled by a mini field of webs at the centre of the battlefield.

"We'll have to attack from a distance this time, Chimchar!" Tierno shouted, looking a little frustrated, as the crowd gasped at the tight spot he seemed to be in. Dawn quickly glanced over to see their friends all watching closely, clearly loving every moment of the battle. "Use Ember!" Tierno added, bringing Dawn's attention back to the battle.

She smiled, knowing this was exactly how she could win this thing. "Charrr!" Chimchar cried out, sending a few fireballs in Scatterbug's direction, the bug type managing to get out of the way, while the webs she'd formed began to ignite. As Chimchar kept firing, Scatterbug managed to just duck out of the way each time, continuously circling Chimchar, and causing the webs to ignite all around him. Before long, they were separated. Chimchar was surrounded by the flames, with Scatterbug on the opposite side, hidden.

The crowd had gone dead silent now, almost sensing this was the end of the battle. It all came down to whoever managed to make the best use of the flames. Dawn knew it was risky, but she was sure she could trap Tierno one more time. "Scatterbug, keep circling the flames, and get ready to attack!"

"I don't think so, Dawn!" Tierno called out, tapping his foot as he prepared to get some kind of beat. "Chimchar, focus and get ready to use Flame Wheel!"

"Scatterbug!" Scatterbug shouted, already on the move, darting around the circle of flames as fast as she could. Dawn could just see Chimchar through the flames, looking around, trying to get a sense of her timing. She knew it would be close, but she was sure Scatterbug could do this.

"Now!" Tierno yelled, doing another pirouette and punching the air, before Chimchar screeched loudly, flames shooting up around him as he burst forward.

"Charrr!" The Chimp Pokemon put everything he had into his attack, bursting out of the wall of flames and timing his strike perfectly, hitting Scatterbug in the side and driving her back from the flames with full force.

"Hold on, Scatterbug!" Dawn yelled, knowing it was their only chance.

"Scatter!"

It was like watching it in slow motion, the two Pokemon midair while Chimchar's flaming body carried Scatterbug back. However, Dawn could just see Scatterbug managing to hold on, despite a few cries of pain. _Just a bit more, Scatterbug,_ she thought, clenching her fists.

Finally, just as he was about to land, the flames around Chimchar suddenly disappeared, his whole body seizing up as he collapsed to the ground, with Scatterbug still holding on tight, her body smoking badly. She looked just about ready to drop, but she was desperate to win this match.

"Bug Bite!" Dawn yelled in triumph.

And with that, the crowd seemed to know it was over, cheering loudly as Scatterbug raised her head, before biting hard into Chimchar's back. The Chimp Pokemon didn't even cry out, too tired from the paralysis and the previous attacks. Scatterbug then quickly leaped back, ready to end it once and for all.

"And finish with Tackle!"

"Scatter!" The bug type charged forward, slamming her body hard into the still Chimchar and sending him back into the flames, which were quickly dying down.

As they settled down completely, the referee stepped forward, seeing Chimchar's still body lying in the middle of the field. "Chimchar is unable to battle! The winners are Dawn and Scatterbug, and they will be moving on to the semifinal round and will battle Clemont!"

"WOOO!" the crowd roared, ecstatic about the performance both trainers had put on.

Dawn quickly ran forward towards Scatterbug, the bug type falling over from exhaustion. "Scatterbug!" she said happily, picking up the bug type in her arms. She noticed Tierno making his way over to Chimchar, looking a little disappointed, but he still gave her a smile nonetheless. She smiled back, before returning her attention to Scatterbug. "You were great, Scatterbug. That was a really tough battle, but you pulled it off!"

"Sc-sc-sc-" Scatterbug weakly tried to get out, coughing suddenly, her body seizing up.

"Scatterbug?"

Suddenly, the Pokemon in her arms began to glow, Scatterbug's eyes opening wide as she looked up at Dawn. She heard a few people gasping, but she didn't pay any attention, only focusing on Scatterbug as it grew larger in arms, its soft body becoming harder and somewhat furrier. When the light faded, she could still see Scatterbug's face, but it was slightly larger, and below it was some kind of furry covering a cocoon-like body.

"Spewpa!" Scatterbug said happily, eyes lighting up as it looked at Dawn.

"And Dawn's Scatterbug has just evolved into Spewpa!" Sycamore announced happily, while the crowd applauded. "This should make her semifinal match with Clemont even more interesting!"

Dawn just smiled at that, hugging her new Spewpa as she stood up and looked back towards her group of friends, noticing Tierno waiting for her at the edge of the battlefield. She quickly followed him, while Sycamore announced the next matchup, which was Serena's. As they passed her, Serena quickly congratulated Dawn on her battle, looking quite impressed with Spewpa and telling it how great a job it had done.

When they reached their seats, Marie and Bonnie offered to take Chimchar and Spewpa to Nurse Joy, and as they set off, Serena's match began soon after. It wasn't nearly as close as Dawn's and Tierno's match, with Absol making quick work of the opposing Gligar, but it was good to see Serena moving on. Ash, meanwhile, was getting ready for his match, seeming quite excited by the match between Dawn and Tierno.

"You guys were awesome out there!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist. "And I bet Spewpa will be great for you in the future, Dawn. Especially when it evolves into Vivillon!"

Dawn hadn't even thought of that, but smiled as she looked back towards the battlefield, while Serena's match finished up, and Ash headed out to finish off the quarterfinal round. While he battled, his Rowlet looking just as dominant against his opponent as Absol had against his, Dawn felt a huge sense of relief wash over her.

It wasn't like her battle against Tierno meant she had gotten herself back on track to be the Coordinator she wanted to be, but maybe...maybe it was a good start to getting back there. Even though it wasn't a Contest, she and Scatterbug...or Spewpa, now, had managed to come even closer. They had worked off each others' strengths and had managed to outmanoeuvre Tierno's quick dancing routine. It had been close, but Dawn and Spewpa had pulled off something special together. They'd only known each other a few days, and winning that battle was a good start for them.

A few minutes later, with Ash's battle wrapping up, Bonnie and Marie returned with the Pokemon, Marie handing Dawn her Spewpa. The bug type still looked a little tired, but in its eyes, Dawn could see it was ready for the next battle. And as Ash's battle ended and he started making his way over to their group, looking straight at Serena, Dawn could feel the excitement picking up among them, and the rest of the crowd as everyone looked towards Professor Sycamore.

"And with that, we are down to our final four competitors!" he announced, the crowd cheering loudly as the screen overhead displayed the pictures showing the next matchups. "This has been a great tournament so far, and I think it's safe to say everyone has learned a lot, but now, we're down to the final group vying for the Key Stone! I'm sure you all want to see the semifinals get started as soon as possible."

"WOOO!" the crowd roared, cheering and applauding.

"In the first semifinal match, we will have Dawn and her newly evolved Spewpa, facing off against Clemont and his Turtwig," Sycamore continued. Dawn could feel the eyes on her as people around her stared at her, but she ignored it, focusing on Sycamore. "And in our second match..."

"I can't wait!" Ash whispered excitedly, leaning forward with excitement. Dawn laughed, seeing Serena looking a little more nervous about it, but excited nonetheless.

"In our second semifinal match, we have Ash and his Rowlet, battling against Serena and her Absol!"

 **Author's Note:**

That's right...the semifinals will see Clemont facing off against Dawn, and Serena facing off against...Ash. Turtwig, Spewpa, Absol and Rowlet have fought hard so far, but who will emerge as the strongest? And who will win the Key Stone? And as for Team Rocket and Jessie/Julie...not forgotten...

And also, we've got the introduction of Hala from the beginning of the chapter! If his appearance seems a little off, it's partially because there was very little Sun and Moon info for a large part of the planning of the story, but I wanted to include some, so I needed to leave a few things open for when I had some more info. And info I got, so I think it works out quite well. What's in store should be interesting, but we'll see.

Anyways, next chapter shouldn't be too far away, and for those who follow on Twitter, be on the lookout for more Bonnie story info coming soon as well. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.


	36. Sycamore's Mega Tournament - Part 3

**Author's Note:**

Here we are with Chapter 36, and the conclusion of the Sycamore Mega Tournament. I hope you're ready for lots of battling, because this chapter has plenty of it. So let's get to it.

 **Chapter 36: Sycamore's Mega Tournament – Part 3**

Watching Clemont and Dawn as each made their way towards their places on the battlefield, Serena felt her nervousness increasing by the second. Sure, she'd made it far in this tournament, and she knew that she and Absol had earned their place, but to have all this lead to a battle with Ash...she wasn't really sure how to feel about that. Seeing Clemont and Dawn out on the field, both looking fairly confident and ready to battle, Serena felt almost like she wasn't worthy of this chance.

Of course, looking over at Ash, who leaned forward excitedly, Rowlet and Pikachu upon each shoulder, he was definitely not worried about any of that. He could barely stop talking about how excited he was to battle Serena and Absol, and then see who could give the winner of Clemont and Dawn's match a good battle for the final. Serena didn't know _why_ Ash was so excited to battle her. She supposed that leading up to it being a reality, _she_ had been excited about the prospect. It was just that now with the battle approaching, and approaching quickly, she really wasn't sure what she'd be able to do against him.

She shook her head, clenching her fists as she thought of Absol, and how hard he'd been working. Not only had he worked to put himself in a position to compete in this tournament in the first place, but he'd given it his all to get them this far. They were becoming a true team, and their battle with Julie in particular had really shown that to be the case. She just wanted to show that to Ash, and to all her friends.

"Looks like Dawn and Clemont are ready to go," Shauna said suddenly, stirring Serena away from her thoughts. "I wonder if Spewpa will be able to keep up after that battle with Chimchar. And I wonder if it'll lose any of its speed."

Serena nodded, thinking the same thing as she looked at the feisty bug type standing...or possibly sitting, in front of Dawn. It definitely didn't look like it would be as mobile as it had been throughout the tournament. Dawn would likely have to rely on its String Shot attack to slow Turtwig down for her best chance, and Serena doubted Clemont would make that easy.

As the referee stepped forward to call out the conditions for the match, Serena and the others focused on the field, ready to see which of their friends would be making it to the finals. Whoever did make it, Serena was sure it would be a tough challenge for her or Ash. Clemont and Dawn had proven they were well above the level of many of the trainers competing, and they only seemed to be getting better and better. And it definitely looked like they were ready to get this match started, as both called an attack as soon as the call came for the battle to begin.

"Leech Seed!" Clemont yelled, clearly hoping to quickly take advantage of Spewpa's limited mobility with its newly evolved state.

"String Shot!" Dawn countered, a long range attack her best move at this stage.

Both Pokemon sent out their attacks quickly, Turtwig lowering his head and firing the seed as Spewpa unleashed the long rope of web to counter it. Dawn's move proved to be effective in its goal, hitting the seed and sending it flying back, before falling to the ground, covered in webs. She was quick to follow up, though, ordering another String Shot in Turtwig's direction, clearly hoping to keep Clemont on the defensive until she could get a proper attack in.

"Twig!" Serena was surprised at the speed of the attack, Turtwig, stumbling backwards as the webs struck him on the side while he tried to turn away. She quickly looked at Clemont, wondering if Dawn might actually be able to hold him back long enough to guide Spewpa through the match.

Clemont was too clever, though, and, as if he'd planned on the String Shot hitting Turtwig, he took full advantage of it. "Turtwig, pull Spewpa towards you as hard as you can!" he yelled, many people in the crowd around them surprised at the sudden order.

"TurrrTWIG!" Turtwig cried out, grabbing some of the webs in his mouth and pulling back as hard as he could, causing Spewpa to suddenly get lifted off the ground, before another pull sent her flying towards Turtwig. The Tiny Leaf Pokemon wasn't done just yet, though, biting the string of webs and breaking it apart just as Spewpa was approaching him, sending the bug type skidding awkwardly along the ground as she hit it.

"Tackle!" Clemont yelled, taking full advantage of the vulnerable Spewpa. Turtwig shot forward, aiming his head down as he approached Spewpa, ready to hit it with all the force he could muster.

"Harden!" Dawn shouted quickly, just as Turtwig was nearing Spewpa. Then, just as the grass type was about to strike, Spewpa's body glowed in a white light briefly, before Turtwig's attack landed. Serena couldn't help but wince as Spewpa was sent skidding away, but she was definitely surprised as the bug type managed to position itself upright fairly quickly, hardly looking hurt by the direct strike.

"Nice move," Ash commented, looking over at Clemont as the inventor seemed to be taking a deep breath. "Spewpa can raise its defence with Harden, so that Tackle wasn't nearly as powerful as it could've been."

"Can Clemont still win?" Bonnie asked worriedly, looking disappointed, as she had clearly been thinking that Clemont was on his way to an easy victory.

"Oh yeah," Ash said confidently. "He still has a chance for sure. Spewpa will still take some damage, and Clemont can probably figure out something else as well."

Serena turned her attention back to the field, watching Clemont again, wondering just what he could do to keep the pressure on Dawn. Ash seemed to see things three steps ahead of everyone else in their group watching. If she couldn't see it either, how could she expect to show him how much she'd improved with Absol? How could she give him the battle he was looking for?

"Turtwig, use another Tackle attack!" Clemont finally called out, ready to take the offensive again, as Spewpa watched the grass type begin to charge towards her.

"Use Harden again, and get ready!" Dawn ordered, looking like she had a plan as well.

Turtwig once again lowered his head as he charged, looking very determined as he approached his opponent. Spewpa looked ready as well, narrowing her eyes as the grass type neared her, her body briefly glowing once more from Harden. Then, the collision came, Turtwig striking the bug type with all the force he could muster, keeping the charge going as he attempted to push Spewpa back as far as possible, the Scatterdust Pokemon's raised defence keeping it standing strong, although Serena could still see it straining.

This seemed to be just what Dawn wanted, though, and Serena raised her eyebrows as she noticed the Coordinator's eyes light up as she smiled. "Spewpa! Bug Bite, now!"

"Spewww!" The crowd cheered as Spewpa suddenly lunged forward, biting into Turtwig's shoulder as the grass type suddenly came to a stop, crying out from the sudden attack.

"A clever move by Dawn, as Spewpa lands a super effective attack on Turtwig!" Sycamore called out to the crowd, as they cheered once more, watching closely to see what Clemont's counter would be.

It came quickly, the inventor looking surprisingly confident. "Turtwig, now's your chance! Leech Seed!" he yelled, pointing ahead as he made the order.

"Twiiig!" Turtwig cried out, narrowing his eyes as he fought through one last bite from Spewpa, before lowering his head a little more, the seed emerging as he aimed it at Spewpa. Serena noticed Dawn clenching her fists, seeing no way to counter as the seed fired out, striking the bug type in its centre and exploding into vines around its whole body as Turtwig leaped back. Suddenly, the vines seemed to glow green as Spewpa cried out, the attack sapping some of her energy, as Turtwig stood a little taller, gaining it as his own.

Once again, the crowd cheered, this time in support of Clemont as he once again seemed to have the edge, Turtwig looking ready to finish the match as he stood in front of him. Serena was starting to feel nervous already, knowing that this match coming to a close meant that she and Ash were up next. She still wasn't sure if she'd be able to match what he, or even Dawn and Clemont, seemed to be capable of.

She took a deep breath, watching Dawn as the Coordinator narrowed her eyes, looking like she knew the direction this battle was going. However, Serena was surprised to see her still looking so confident, and ready to battle. _Don't give up till it's over_ , she thought, realizing Dawn was clearly willing to take this to the end. She couldn't help but smile at that. If Dawn could keep fighting a match she looked to be losing, Serena could bring herself to battle her best against Ash.

"Spewpa, don't give up! String Shot, quickly!"

"Spewww!" Spewpa shouted, firing out the string of webs as Turtwig, jumped back. The grass type was unable to dodge, though, seeming a little too confident and moving just slow enough to be struck by the sticky webs, stumbling a bit as they struck his chest.

"Now, use Harden, and then bring it into Tackle by pulling on those webs!" Dawn ordered, sounding like she knew this was her best and only chance.

Spewpa did all that was asked of it, putting everything into it as it pulled on the String Shot, sending itself flying forward as its body glowed from Harden. Then, just as it approached Turtwig, it aimed itself so it was flying straight as an arrow, before crashing hard into Turtwig, the grass type, stumbling backwards, shaking its head from the attack.

Unfortunately for Dawn, the Leech Seed kicked in again, causing Spewpa to fall over as its energy was sapped again, Turtwig, managing to rise to his feet quickly from the sudden energy boost. Serena could see that Clemont knew the match was his.

"Turtwig, finish this off with Bite!" he yelled.

"Twiiig!" Turtwig cried, lunging forward, opening his jaws wide, and clamping them down on the bug type in front of him. Spewpa cried out from the pain, but a moment later, it was all over as Turtwig jumped back, watching as Spewpa seemed to try to rise back up, before ultimately falling back down, unable to continue.

As the referee made the call, the crowd cheered loudly while both Dawn and Clemont ran forward towards their Pokemon, Turtwig making an attempt at eating Clemont's glasses as they fell off. Serena took a deep breath as she watched the two trainers with their Pokemon, both looking proud of their effort. It hadn't been as close as Dawn's match with Tierno, but Serena was impressed with how the Coordinator had managed to use everything Spewpa was capable of to give Clemont a challenge. And as Ash stood up next to her, Serena knew she needed to be ready to do the same, no matter how nervous she was.

"Ready to battle, Serena?" he asked her, holding out a fist as Serena stood as well. "No matter who wins, let's both just give it our all, okay?"

Serena smiled, ignoring the giggles she heard from Shauna, and even Bonnie, as she reached out with her own fist, connecting it with Ash's. "Absol and I are ready." She looked up to Ash's shoulder, as Pikachu hopped down to join Riolu, who looked a little nervous to see his two trainers about to head off. Rowlet was looking towards the field, watching Clemont's Turtwig celebrate its victory, ready to move on to the finals. Serena knew he was going to be a tough opponent, and just how motivated he was. However, she was motivated too. She and Absol would give it everything they had.

* * *

"Serena's going to be a tough opponent, Rowlet, so let's make sure to stay sharp and not let our guard down," Ash told his grass type as they headed to their place on the battlefield. "We've come this far, so let's get all the way to the finals, and then we can battle Clemont and Turtwig as well!"

"Kooo!" Rowlet hooted happily, flapping his wings and flying in front of Ash, doing a couple of flips through midair, before flying out and landing in front of where Ash went to stand for the battle. Both of them were clearly ready to go, and Ash knew they needed to be. Serena had seemed a little nervous once they'd found out they'd be battling each other, but as he looked across to her as Absol emerged in front of her, he knew she was ready to give it her all.

A noise caught his attention, as Professor Sycamore announced the matchup to the crowd, informing everyone that this would bring the tournament into its final stage, with the winner taking on Clemont for the Key Stone. Ash could see Hawlucha and Noctowl, standing with Riolu, Hawlucha calling out to Rowlet as though giving him some last minute coaching. Ash smiled, knowing that Rowlet would make sure to make them all proud, and he was sure Absol would put in a good performance as well.

With that, he looked to his right, seeing the referee stepping forward as Sycamore stopped talking, Absol and Rowlet tensing up, knowing their battle was set to begin. "This will be a one on one semifinal battle with Ash and Rowlet facing off against Serena and Absol! The winner will be declared when the opposing Pokemon is unable to battle. Are you ready?" Ash and Serena nodded, smiling at one another as the referee raised his arm. "Then let the battle begin!"

Ash was surprised as Serena was quick to make the first move, immediately putting him on the defensive. "Absol, Dark Pulse!"

"Dodge it!" Ash quickly ordered, Rowlet way ahead of him as he shot into the air, just barely avoiding the dark energy as it struck the ground he'd been standing on, exploding into a cloud of dust. _Nice move, Serena, but you'll need to do more than that._ "Now it's our move! Get in there with Tackle!"

"Kooo!" Rowlet cried out, flapping his wings once more and shooting down towards Absol, who looked up with narrowed eyes, ready for Serena's order.

"Detect!" Serena ordered, looking a little flustered, but clearly doing her best to think quickly. "Then use Psycho Cut!"

"Sol!" The Disaster Pokemon executed it perfectly, eyes glowing as he watched Rowlet approach, the owl quickly extending his legs as he prepared his Tackle attack. Then, just as the grass type was about to strike, Absol slid to the left, Rowlet whiffing completely and driving his feet into the ground where Absol had been a moment earlier. With Rowlet in a vulnerable position, it was easy for Absol to send his next attack crashing into the Grass Quill Pokemon, the Psycho Cut exploding against him and sending him flying back, skidding along the ground, before he managed to right himself, flapping his wings to get himself back into the air.

Sycamore and the crowd were definitely pleased, the latter cheering as the former commented on the move. "An impressive move by Serena and Absol, using that Detect to good use once more to draw her opponent in close to give Absol an easy target."

Ash narrowed his eyes, looking towards Rowlet as the owl looked back, knowing they had to be more careful about trying that again. _We'll need a little more strategy if Absol's going to use Detect to counter our moves._ "Rowlet, hide yourself with Leafage!"

"Hooo!" The Grass Quill Pokemon seemed to quickly understand what Ash was getting at, flapping his wings quickly and generating the glowing leaves in front of him, before sending them swirling outwards to block Absol's view of him.

"Absol, use Detect again!" Serena called out, looking a little less confident as she saw the Leafage attack expand between Rowlet and Absol, suddenly engulfing both Pokemon within it.

"I don't think so, Serena!" Ash shouted, pointing ahead. "Rowlet, use Peck!"

He could just see it through the green mist generated by Leafage, as Absol's eyes flashed briefly, looking up as he seemed to think an attack was approaching, only to jump back as a few extra leaves battered the ground where he'd been standing. A moment later, Ash could see a dark shadow to Absol's right, only for it to disappear among the leaves within a few seconds as the Disaster Pokemon sent out a Psycho Cut in an attempt to intercept it. Then, finally, as Absol was again distracted by leaves battering the ground behind him, Rowlet swooped down in front of him, charging straight at the dark type with his glowing, white beak, before crashing into him full force and sending him flying back, the Leafage attack dying down as he hit the ground, rolling over a couple times before righting himself.

"Ah, very clever! Ash hides Rowlet in the shadow of leaves in order to get around Detect and hit Absol with a direct Peck attack," Sycamore informed the crowd, while Ash heard Hawlucha, calling out what he assumed to be praise for the superb flying Rowlet seemed to be doing so far. Noctowl even hooted a couple of times, while Riolu, understandably, seemed to be cheering for both sides.

"I won't give up, Ash," Serena called out, taking a deep breath as she looked across at him. "I want this to be the best battle possible."

Ash smiled back, knowing he wanted nothing more than for the two of them to put everything they had into this battle. Like he had told Serena that night on the roof, he had wanted to battle her, and now that he had the chance, he was already enjoying it. She and Absol were a tough team, and this battle was only just getting started.

"Rowlet, use Peck!" Ash yelled, ready to get the battle going again.

Serena was ready, though, and this time, she seemed willing to battle Rowlet head on, obviously not willing to risk Detect again so soon. "Absol, counter with Double Edge!"

Rowlet seemed even more motivated by that, flapping his wings hard and circling back around to fly out in front of Ash, diving down, before pulling up and charging straight towards Absol, beak glowing brightly as he flew. Meanwhile, Absol had locked onto his target as well, narrowing his eyes as he watched Rowlet, before breaking out into a run, not looking like his legs were holding him back at all as they kicked hard off the ground.

"Kooo!"

"Sol!"

They struck each other with full force, a shock wave shooting out across the stadium, causing both trainers, the referee and Professor Sycamore to stumble, while the crowd gasped as a gust of wind hit the first few rows. The show of power brought a huge smile to Ash's face as both Pokemon were propelled backwards, Absol digging his feet in to stop himself from sliding too far, while Rowlet flapped his wings hard to hover in front of Ash. Absol winced a bit from the recoil, but both Pokemon looked ready to continue. This tournament had started out with relatively inexperienced Pokemon, but already, that was beginning to change. No beginner Pokemon could produce that kind of power.

"All right!" Ash yelled, pumping his fist as the cheers grew louder. "Nice one, Rowlet! You too, Absol!"

"Sol?" The dark type looked a little surprised at the praise, but eventually nodded, smiling back, before looking back towards Serena, who definitely seemed to be picking up some extra confidence, looking like she was really getting into this battle.

"You haven't seen anything yet, Ash!" Serena shouted, pointing ahead as Absol braced himself. "Psycho Cut!"

"All right, Rowlet, you use...whoa!" Ash's jaw dropped as Absol sent his pink, crescent-shaped attack out, flying towards Rowlet. The Grass Quill Pokemon seemed to be straining, flapping his wings ferociously, before suddenly, a purple, smokey substance was propelled forward. Rowlet flapped his wings even harder, sending the attack out with all the force he could muster, the ghostly energy colliding with the Psycho Cut, the two attacks exploding against each other as the Psycho Cut rained down in pink dust among the wisps of ghostly energy.

"And Rowlet has just learned Ominous Wind!" Professor Sycamore informed the crowd excitedly. "This is definitely good news for Ash, and evidence of how well he's trained his Rowlet."

"Awesome, Rowlet!" Ash exclaimed, jumping and pumping his fist in excitement. He thought it was a little strange that Rowlet had ghost type attack like that, but he didn't really care too much, as long as they could use it. "All right then, let's use Ominous Wind again!"

"Koooo!" Rowlet cried out loudly, flapping his wings rapidly once more. Serena and Absol could only watch in surprise as the purple, smokey wind was quickly generated once again, before being propelled towards Absol at full speed. The dark type tried to brace himself, but the attack was too powerful, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying through the air, before crashing down hard in front of Serena.

Ash was a little worried they'd overdone it for a moment, but was glad to see Absol quickly get up, although it was panting heavily. His eyes then moved over to Rowlet, surprised to see the owl Pokemon glow briefly, before flapping his wings with extra force. He seemed to be extra energized for some reason. Luckily, Professor Sycamore seemed to have the answer.

"Well, it seems like Ominous Wind's secondary effect has kicked in, giving Rowlet a tremendous boost in power!" the Professor informed the crowd, who gasped as Rowlet, flew up higher, looking ready to get into the next stage of the battle.

 _Wow, that's a useful attack,_ Ash thought, looking across at Serena, glad to see that she looked perfectly willing to keep the battle going, smiling encouragingly at Absol as he looked back at her, before staring up challengingly at Rowlet. _She won't give up till it's over,_ he realized, the memory of the summer camp hitting him.

"Absol, use Psycho Cut, and keep it up!" Serena ordered, watching Rowlet up above as he waited for Ash's next command.

Ash narrowed his eyes, watching as the crescent-shaped attack was fired up, Rowlet dodging the first one easily with his speed boost, before swooping past the second one. "All right, Rowlet, use that speed and let's hit 'em with another Peck attack!"

"Hooo!" Rowlet hooted, tucking in his wings and narrowing his eyes as he went into a dive. He clearly felt a confidence boost from the increased strength he'd received from Ominous Wind, driving straight through a couple of Psycho Cut attacks, each time a shower of pink sparkles shooting out behind him.

When he saw Serena smiling, though, Ash knew she'd managed to bring him into a trap of her own. "Wait for it, Absol...now! Dark Pulse!"

Ash's eyes widened, watching Rowlet, now closing in on Absol, crashing through one last Psycho Cut, and too committed to be able to get away. The owl Pokemon seemed to understand just what was happening, Absol's jaws opening quickly as his dive continued, his speed too much to allow him to change course.

The dark, swirling energy rocketed straight up, slamming right into the Grass Quill Pokemon as he cried out in surprise. Ash gritted his teeth, seeing the cloud of smoke shoot up from the explosion, and wincing as Rowlet's body was sent flying out, gravity bringing him back to the ground with a thud. The crowd cheered loudly, a few people chanting Serena's name as she and Absol did their own little cheer at their successful attack.

As Rowlet managed to get to his feet, Ash couldn't help but feel happy for Serena and Absol pulling off the powerful counterattack. Serena really had managed something special with Absol in bringing him this far. Not only had he been nursed back to health with her help, but he was already battling well alongside her. It wasn't just impressive, it was inspiring. By watching these two battle together, and by battling them with Rowlet, Ash knew that their future had no limits. Really, by battling them, he knew that any trainer and Pokemon who worked as hard as them, and trusted one another as well as they did, could become a great team in no matter what goal they wished to achieve.

That didn't mean that he and Rowlet were going to lose, though. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was even more motivated to win. "Rowlet, let's show them just how strong we are!" he yelled, catching sight of Hala in the crowd behind Sycamore, looking overjoyed at the battle he was watching. "Let's start things off with Leafage!"

"Kooo!" Rowlet hooted loudly, flapping his wings and flying higher into the air, before sending out the glowing green leaves, a cloud of them forming around him and Absol.

Serena didn't panic, though, seeming to have figured out some kind of counter to deal with this attack after the previous one. "Absol, get on your back and spin using Dark Pulse! Just like Pancham taught you!"

"Sol!"

Ash narrowed his eyes, surprised to see the dark energy swirling around where Absol was, seemingly blocking any attack with a tornado. That didn't matter, though, as Ash had a perfect backup plan. "All right, Rowlet, we can still do this! Use Ominous Wind and let's _really_ show our strength!"

"Kooo!" Rowlet agreed, shooting up higher into the sky, above the swirling leaves. He and Ash exchanged one more look, before both nodded. The owl flapped his wings as hard as he could, the smokey wind shooting outwards immediately, crashing against the swirling leaves, and then pushing forward until reaching Absol's Dark Pulse. The "Counter Shield" looked powerful, and the two attacks seemed to strain against each other, a crackling sound being heard as the Ominous Wind clashed with the dark energy of dark pulse amid the swirling leaves of Leafage, purple, black and green sparks shooting outwards.

Finally, neither attack seemed able to outdo the other. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, before the two attacks exploded outward, black and purple smoke shooting out across the field, causing both Ash and Serena to shield their eyes. The crowd could be heard both gasping and coughing as the explosion of smoke reached them, the power of the two Pokemon evident once again.

Ash's eyes widened as he looked out to the field once again as the smoke began to clear, seeing both Rowlet and Absol panting, Rowlet now on the ground once again as he tried to catch his breath. The colliding attacks had clearly done some damage to both of them. However, Ash knew that victory was within reach. He was sure Serena was confident too, but he knew Rowlet could do it.

"Rowlet, let's finish this! Use Peck with everything you've got!" he yelled, punching forward as Rowlet cried out in answer, flapping his wings hard to get back into the air.

"Absol, you can do this, too!" Serena called out encouragingly, smiling brightly. "Double Edge!

"Kooo!"

"Sooolll!"

Once again, both Pokemon launched themselves forwards, Absol breaking out into a run, head aimed low and ready to strike, while Rowlet flapped his wings hard and flew in a straight line to meet the dark type head on, his beak glowing white. Ash could feel the tension in the air and the excitement of the crowd. It was like things were moving in slow motion, and he couldn't hear anything as he watched the two Pokemon approach one another.

Then, once again, they collided with a massive shock wave of energy that buffeted the crowd and caused Ash to shield his face once again. He looked up again, though, desperate to see the result, squinting as he watched the two Pokemon strain against each other. He could see just how determined both of them were.

"Keep it going, Rowlet!" Ash urged, knowing Rowlet just needed a little more of a boost.

"Kooooooo!" The owl tensed up at that, flapping his wings hard as he gave one last push against Absol, his beak glowing even brighter against the dark type's horn. Then, Absol slid back a little, surprised by the extra show of force, Rowlet's beak managing to just slide down from the horn as he gave another flap of his wings. His beak drove into Absol's shoulder, sending the Disaster Pokemon flying back as he finally overwhelmed it.

And as Absol landed in front of Serena, Rowlet lowering himself to the ground, panting hard, Ash, and everyone in the crowd, knew it was over. His eyes immediately met Serena's, and he saw her smiling back at him. There was no way that she was happy that she'd lost, but he could see that she was happy to have given it everything she had. She had given him a great battle. That was all he could have ever asked for.

* * *

"Wow, you guys really had a great battle," Shauna said, handing Serena and Ash each a bottle of water after returning from the vendor. "People were really going crazy. I didn't know you had that in you, Serena."

Serena felt her cheeks heat up as she glanced at Ash, the raven-haired trainer smiling widely, clearly still buzzing with excitement from the battle they'd had, along with the one that would be happening a few minutes from now, with Clemont. "I guess battling Ash brought something out in Absol and I," she admitted, smiling at the tired dark type, who was digging into his lunch, eating alongside Pikachu, Riolu and Hawlucha.

"I think _you_ brought something out in _me_ ," Ash said, surprising her a little. "I haven't been that fired up since the Kalos League. That was a lot of fun!"

"You probably just wanted to impress Serena, didn't you, Ash?" Bonnie muttered, giggling a little as she and Shauna exchanged an amused look, while Serena immediately avoided Ash's gaze. Although, he didn't seem to get quite understand.

"What's so funny?" he finally asked, glaring at Bonnie.

Before the little devil of a girl could answer, though, Serena was distracted as a large shadow came across their little group. She and the others quickly looked behind her, noticing Hala having come up to them, the Alolan looking just as excited as Ash about the battles.

"Alola!" he said happily, smiling at the group, while they all looked at him in confusion.

"Um...Kalos?" Ash asked, clearly unsure of what his response was supposed to be. Serena was just as confused, supposing his answer was the best she could've come up with as well.

Hala quickly shook his head, though, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he laughed. "Oh, sorry...in Alola, that's how we greet one another. I forgot where I was for a moment."

"Doesn't that get confusing?" Bonnie asked, looking up at the big man, curiosity in her eyes. "We don't greet each other here by saying, 'Kalos', whenever we see each other."

Hala laughed loudly once again upon hearing that, smiling down at Bonnie. "Indeed, it is a bit confusing, isn't it? Well, I suppose it works well enough in Alola, but I should probably stick with just a simple 'hello' while I'm here." He then looked at Serena and Ash, the excitement showing on his face again. "That was an excellent battle the two of you had. I was very impressed. You two clearly understand your Pokemon very well, and I can tell how much they care for you." He then smiled, bending down a bit and smirking at Ash. "I could sense a bit of emotion between the trainers, too."

"Huh?" Ash asked, while everyone minus the frozen Serena groaned in exasperation.

"Never mind that then," Hala quickly said, laughing it off. "Up next is your battle with Clemont, correct? Him and his Turtwig?"

"Yeah!" Ash said, pumping his fist excitedly. "Rowlet and Turtwig even have a little rivalry going, so it should be an awesome battle!"

"Kooo," Rowlet hooted in agreement from Ash's shoulder.

"That Ominous Wind attack should be a big boost for you," Serena pointed out, thinking of how hard it had been for her and Absol to deal with. "Clemont will have a tough time trapping you in the same way he managed to get Dawn in their battle."

"Mmm." They both looked at the Alola native, wondering what he seemed to be thinking of as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. It seemed like Ash was just about to ask when suddenly, a commotion could be heard from a crowd near the far end of the stadium, right where Professor Sycamore seemed to be heading out towards the field, holding something in his hand, that sparkled in the sunlight.

"What's th-" Ash's question was immediately cut off as an explosion just behind Sycamore sent the Pokemon Researcher soaring forwards, off his feet and into the ground a few feet away, the item in his hand falling in front of him. A moment later, an Inkay suddenly swooped forward, grabbing the item, before darting back, as a balloon quickly started expanding from where the explosion had struck. Serena tensed up, immediately seeing the balloon take the shape of a Meowth's head.

"Is that...?" she started to ask, just as the trio, along with their Wobbuffet, emerged, James holding what they had taken from Professor Sycamore.

"Team Rocket!" Ash hissed, their exchange confusing Hala a little bit. "They got Sycamore's Key Stone!"

"Hey!" Serena turned around quickly, noticing the rest of their friends coming up to them, Marie in the lead, looking up furiously and pointing. "Isn't that Julie?!"

Serena's eyes went back to the balloon, seeing James studying the Key Stone in his hands, while Meowth looked at it fondly. However, next to Meowth, instead of Jessie, it was, in fact, Julie. Serena's eyes widened with realization as the woman looked down at the group, locking her eyes on Serena and Ash.

"Prepare for trouble, it was just a disguise!" With that, Jessie seemed to rip off the clothes that hid her as Julie, revealing her regular outfit, as James continued the motto.

"And make it double, it was in front of your eyes!"

"To protect the world, from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"What a clever motto," Hala murmured, looking up curiously at the group in the balloon. "Did they come up with all of that on their own?"

Serena and the others looked at the Alolan for a moment, none of them sure if he was serious or not, but in the end, they just decided to ignore it. "Absol, get ready!" Serena called out to her dark type, watching as he quickly leaped out in front of them as they rushed out onto the field, Ash's Hawlucha quickly joining him.

"Give back that Key Stone!" Ash yelled, looking up angrily. "That's not yours!"

"I beg to differ!" Jessie said, cackling away. "By rights, it is mine! That twerpette cheated in our battle!"

"You shouldn't even be competing!" Marie yelled up angrily, her Fletchling out in front of her. "Who did you trick into taking their spot!"

"Some silly little girl, much like you," Jessie laughed out again. "You twerps and twerpettes are all so gullible."

"Who are these people?" Hala asked, pulling out a pokeball, looking up curiously once more. "They remind me of some people back home."

"They're pretty much just Pokemon thieves," Ash told him angrily, looking around as the crowds started to gather around the field, people looking up, some of the teachers that were there telling them to stay back. Serena could see Sycamore standing up now, looking up in frustration at Team Rocket, James still studying the Key Stone.

"Ash, do you think Rowlet could catch that Key Stone if they dropped it?" Hala asked suddenly, opening up his pokeball, the light flashing to reveal a strange, white crab-like Pokemon, with yellow hair on its head, white fur around its body, and two massive arms. "My Crabominable and I can take care of the rest."

"Um...sure," Ash answered, exchanging a confused look with Serena. Rowlet, get ready," he said, looking up at the owl Pokemon as it nodded confidently.

"Don't you try anything!" Jessie yelled down, her Gourgeist appearing in front of the balloon, Inkay floating up in front of it. Serena could tell she was a little nervous about Hala as he stepped forward.

"Crabominable!" the man suddenly shouted. "Together!"

"Crabawww!" the Pokemon, Crabominable, shouted out.

Serena hadn't noticed how loud things had been until that moment, with people having been shouting and making a huge commotion over what was going on above them. In that moment, everyone seemed to go deathly silent, stunned as they watched Hala act. The Alolan spread his arms wide, as did his Crabominable, a light suddenly shining brightly on the strange bracelet around the man's wrist, before he crossed his arms in front of himself and then quickly pulled one back, punching outward with the other. He repeated this motion again and again, Crabominable moving in perfect sync, the light from the item on Hala's bracelet shining brighter and brighter as it enveloped both trainer and Pokemon.

Serena and Ash both took a step back suddenly, gasping as Hala gave one last powerful punch, Crabominable once again mimicking him, the light around him brighter than ever. "ALL OUT PUMMELLING!" Hala shouted loudly, sounding more fierce than an angry Salamence. They all looked up, noticing Team Rocket looking just as stunned, if not more, watching in fear as Crabominable suddenly sent a barrage of orange, glowing fists of light flying towards them.

"What...is that?" Ash breathed out, watching with wide eyes as Team Rocket's Pokemon were easily slammed back into the balloon, Inkay hitting James hard in the middle of the chest, the Key Stone immediately falling out of his grip and out of the balloon. "Rowlet, go!" Ash hissed, luckily not too entranced by Hala's attack, the owl shooting up quickly as they watched the strange fists continue to batter at Team Rocket.

"What's happening?!" Serena heard Jessie scream, as their balloon exploded above them, their carrier left hovering midair for a moment.

"I think we know!" James shouted back in fear, clutching his Inkay as the final fist struck them all at once.

"We're blasting off again!" they all shouted, their group flying away into the sky.

There was a brief moment of silence as everyone on the field, and those in the stands stared up at the place where Team Rocket had been a moment before, while Rowlet snatched the falling Key Stone out of the air, bringing it back down to drop it in Sycamore's hand, before flying back to Ash's shoulder. Everyone's eyes then seemed to go to Hala, watching as the man took a few deep breaths, looking pretty tired out from whatever that attack was. Finally, though, the silence ended, a loud cheer erupting from the crowd.

"Wow, Hala, that was awesome!" Ash yelled, running up to the man. "What was that?! You've gotta tell me! Can I learn that?"

Hala rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Uhh...well, I suppose so. Although, I think you should maybe focus on your battle, first."

"Right," Professor Sycamore's voice broke in. "Now that we've got the Key Stone back, how about we get things started?"

Serena almost laughed, seeing the conflict in Ash's eyes, knowing he wanted to know all about Hala's strange attack, but also wanting to battle. Of course, when he noticed Clemont and Turtwig looking back at him, it was clear he was ready to finish the tournament off. "All right! Clemont, I hope you're ready!"

"We've been ready since round one!" Clemont assured him, Turtwig nodding confidently beside him.

Serena could definitely see that this was going to be a great battle.

* * *

"Are you ready for this, Turtwig?" Clemont asked, looking in front of him as his grass type started to walk out in front of him, staring down Ash's Rowlet as it drifted out in front of Ash. "This will definitely be our toughest battle yet."

"Twig! Tur tur twig!" Turtwig nodded, looking back and giving Clemont a surprisingly serious look. "Twig!"

Clemont smiled at that, looking across at Ash, who seemed to be giving Rowlet some kind of pep talk as well. The inventor knew that this would be a very tough battle to fight, but he knew he needed to stay confident, just like Korrina had told him. He wasn't going to go into it thinking he was going to lose. He expected to win, so he would give it all he had to do so, knowing Ash expected the exact same thing.

They seemed to wait an extra couple of minutes for the referee to get ready, some of the crowd still displaced from the incident with Team Rocket. However, things were eventually cleared up, and everyone seemed to be in their seats when the referee finally emerged, Professor Sycamore standing behind him as he held up the Key Stone, announcing that the winner of the battle would be receiving it as their prize.

Clemont had to admit, seeing it in Sycamore's hands in that moment, it was very exciting to know that it could be his if he could just win this one battle. He shook his head, though, looking out towards Turtwig, knowing that the most important thing was working together with his grass type, sure that it would turn out well no matter what the result was.

"Ash! Clemont!" the referee then yelled, getting their attention. "This will be a one on one battle to decide the victor of this tournament! Ash and Rowlet versus Clemont and Turtwig! The winner will be decided when the opposing Pokemon is unable to battle! Are you ready!"

"Yeah!" Ash yelled confidently, Rowlet hooting in agreement.

"Yes!" Clemont answered next, giving a thumbs up to Ash, Turtwig nodding in front of him.

"All right!" the referee yelled, raising his arm. "Then let the battle begin!"

"Tackle!" both trainers yelled immediately, their Pokemon launching themselves forward as quickly as possible, Turtwig barrelling forward with his head bowed low, while Rowlet had his legs aimed out, ready for impact.

"Kooo!"

"Twig!"

They collided with nearly as much force as Rowlet and Absol had met with earlier, wind shooting out from the impact and seemingly shaking the first few rows of the stadium. Clemont even had to quickly readjust his glasses, while Ash had to hold tightly onto his hat. They both smiled as their Pokemon leaped back from one another, knowing that this was just the beginning.

"All right, Rowlet, keep it up! Use Peck!" Ash shouted, pointing ahead quickly, obviously hoping to keep the intensity up.

"Kooo!" Rowlet hooted, flapping his wings hard and shooting forward quickly, beak glowing white. He reached Turtwig quickly, slamming his beak hard into his fellow grass type's shoulder, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon crying out in pain.

Clemont wasn't giving in that easily, though, knowing he had an opportunity for a quick counterattack. "Turtwig, Bite!" Rowlet could see that he was vulnerable, but there was no chance for him to retreat, Turtwig quickly jumping up and clamping his jaws onto the owl's wing, this time getting a cry of pain from Rowlet, before throwing the owl back.

"A fierce exchange of attacks, and it looks like neither side is going to budge!" Sycamore called out to the crowd, who cheered loudly, sounding even more excited, especially after the show Hala put on against Team Rocket.

"Let's keep it up, Rowlet!" Ash yelled. "Ominous Wind!"

"Razor Leaf!" Clemont countered.

"Kooo!" Rowlet immediately flew a little higher into the air, before suddenly flapping his wings ferociously, while Turtwig jumped back, concentrating hard as he swung his head around. A moment later, a smokey, purple wind began shooting towards Turtwig, as the Tiny Leaf Pokemon responded with a barge of razor sharp leaves. Ultimately, Rowlet's attack proved too much, the Ominous Wind pushing back the Razor Leaf and striking Turtwig hard, sending the grass type rolling along the ground.

Luckily, it seemed like Rowlet didn't get the boost he'd received when using Ominous Wind against Serena, but Clemont could see that it didn't matter much, as Turtwig was in a vulnerable position. "Peck, now!" Ash ordered, taking full advantage of his opportunity.

"Twig?" Turtwig looked up, managing to get to his feet just as Rowlet was charging towards him. Unfortunately, it was too late, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon being struck hard once again by the super effective attack and being knocked backwards once again.

"Quick, use Leech Seed!" Clemont ordered, knowing they needed to find some way to even this match out before it was too late.

"Turrrtwig!" Turtwig cried out loudly, firing out the seed as he fell back, sending it right into Rowlet's chest as the owl fell to the ground, the vines wrapping themselves around him, glowing green as they sapped his energy, causing Turtwig to rise quickly, embracing the energy boost.

"Now, Tackle!" Clemont yelled, knowing they had the edge now, feeling a hint of satisfaction at hearing the crowd cheer for his successful counterattack. He smiled, watching as Turtwig charged forth with all his might, slamming hard into Rowlet as once again, the Leech Seed started to sap his energy, the vines glowing green as he sailed through the air, before crashing hard to the ground in front of Ash.

Ash didn't seem to be backing down, though, smiling as he looked across at Clemont, looking even more energized by the battle after their fierce start. "Come on, Rowlet!" he encouraged, his eyes flashing with his confidence "Break out of those vines and get back in there with Tackle!"

"Turtwig, go!" Clemont yelled, knowing he needed to act quickly. "You use Tackle, too!" Of course, he could see Rowlet straining, and knew that they wouldn't be able to land another easy attack.

"Kooo!" Rowlet hooted, the vines exploding into pieces around him as he spread his wings. Narrowing his eyes as he saw Turtwig charging towards him, he quickly flapped his wings, propelling himself forwards, legs outstretched to meet the opposing grass type head on.

Once again, the two grass types met with explosive force, shaking the field around them and causing the crowd to cheer and gasp at the power of the Pokemon. Clemont and Ash both stared on, clenching their fists as they watched their Pokemon strain against one another, the tension high as the crowd's cheers grew silent. However, in that moment, things only grew even more tense, as suddenly, a bright light began to shine at the centre of the field.

It was like nothing Clemont had ever seen before, his eyes widening as he saw not one, but two Pokemon, shining brightly, their bodies glowing and expanding with the light of evolution, still locked in combat from their attacks. The crowd once again went wild, including Ash's Hawlucha who seemed to be encouraging Rowlet to hold on.

Finally, the light dimmed down, revealing the two Pokemon, both larger than they were previously, each being shoved back by the other as they took a moment to rest, each looking like they were stunned by their new forms as they looked down at their bodies, and back towards their trainers.

"Unbelievable!" Sycamore exclaimed, the crowd going wild at what they'd just witnessed. "Not just one, but two evolutions in one battle, as both Pokemon are giving it their all to earn their trainers the victory! Clemont's Turtwig has evolved into Grotle, while Ash's Rowlet has evolved into Dartrix! I've never seen anything like this!"

Clemont couldn't have been happier, seeing his new Pokemon, looking quite a bit larger than before, but looking very ready to battle. It now appeared that he had a golden shell along his back, a couple of bushes growing out of them, along with a tail extending out of his back. It almost looked like the shell formed a kind of helmet on his head. He clearly looked strong, but Clemont knew he probably had a little less speed than before, so he would need to be cautious.

Meanwhile, on Ash's side of the field, Dartrix definitely didn't look like he'd be fitting into Ash's backpack anymore, no longer a cute little Rowlet. Although, Clemont was sure he could hear Bonnie still calling it cute from the stands. The feathers around his head were a darker shade of brown now, while its wings were larger and mostly white. Two... _leaves_ also seemed to be coming out of the top of its head, looking almost like they were getting in the way as the owl had to push them aside, as though pushing aside a strand of hair. Clemont knew he had to be careful, though, knowing that if Dartrix was even just a little bit stronger, he would be _very_ tough to beat.

"Well, I guess we'd better get this battle going again!" Ash said, Clemont nodding in agreement. "All right then, Dartrix! Show me what you've got!"

"You too, Grotle!" Clemont urged.

"Daroooo!"

"Grotle!"

With that, Dartrix flapped his wings hard, launching himself towards Grotle, who seemed to be bracing himself for impact. The Blade Quill Pokemon quickly held up his wing as he approached, Clemont noticing as it began to glow a bright green. Then, he slammed it down, driving it hard into Grotle's back. The Grove Pokemon cried out in pain, but he wasn't giving in just yet, green light suddenly shining from his shell as Dartrix suddenly cried out in pain, the light around his wing dimming and his body seizing up. He quickly disengaged, flying up as he retreated to hover in front of Ash once more, both Pokemon panting as they glared at one another.

"It looks like their evolutions have given these two a couple of new moves. Dartrix has learned Leaf Blade, while Grotle has learned Mega Drain!" Sycamore informed the crowd. "We'll have to see which trainer can make better use out of their new moves."

"Well, we'll use an old one for now!" Ash shouted, pumping his fist. "Dartrix, use Ominous Wind!"

"Grotle, get ready!" Clemont shouted, knowing they just needed to tough this one out, with Grotle being slower now, and then make their move after.

"Darooo!" Dartrix cried out, flapping his wings hard as the smokey wind was quickly generated. It looked even stronger than before, the crowd cheering at Dartrix's increased strength. Then, a moment later, it shot forth, crashing hard against Grotle as he cried out in pain, sounding like he was holding on as best he could to not be carried away by the wind. Clemont smiled proudly when he saw the wind die down, though, seeing that Grotle had managed to hold his position. However, it seemed that Dartrix was glowing, the secondary effect of Ominous Wind giving him his power boost.

"We can still win this, Grotle!" Clemont shouted, adjusting his glasses. "Razor Leaf!"

"GroooTLE!" Grotle roared, taking both Ash and Dartrix by surprise as he fired off the razor sharp leaves, sending them spinning rapidly towards Dartrix, who was battered relentlessly by them, staggering back and crying out from the attack.

"Hang in there, Dartrix!" Ash shouted encouragingly, his fierce call seeming to give Dartrix the motivation he needed to hold his position. "We can do this! Get in there with Leaf Blade!"

"Counter with Bite!" Clemont shouted, sensing this battle was drawing to a close.

"Hoooo!" Dartrix hooted, flapping his wings to get himself higher into the air, before diving down towards Grotle and extending one wing outward as it began to glow a bright green. Then, just as he swung it outward, Grotle opened his jaws wide, before closing them hard on Dartrix's wing, wincing a bit from the impact, but appearing to cause more pain to Dartrix as it hooted in pain.

"Hang in there, Dartrix!" Ash shouted, smiling, his look surprising Clemont a little. The inventor realized his mistake too late, though, seeing that Grotle was open to an easy attack now. "Use Peck! Full power!"

"Darooo!" Dartrix cried out, his beak glowing white as he pulled his head back. Clemont could only watch in stunned silence as the owl crashed his beak into Grotle's head, the Grove Pokemon crying out in pain as he staggered back, releasing his hold on Dartrix immediately.

"And now, let's finish this, Dartrix!" Ash yelled, the Blade Quill Pokemon flying back a few feet, apparently knowing Ash's next order already. "Ominous Wind!"

"Hoooo!"

The entire stadium seemed to go quiet as they watched Dartrix spread his wings, the purple smoke appearing to drift off them as he started to flap them ferociously. Then, a moment later, the gust exploded outwards, the vulnerable Grotle in no position to fight against it this time, the attack lifting his heavy body into the air and sending him flying back, crashing hard into the ground behind Clemont, leaving him there, unmoving.

The referee seemed to wait a moment, his arm twitching as he watched Grotle. The Grove Pokemon even seemed to stir a little, making the crowd gasp, thinking the match might continue. However, Clemont knew it was over, the inventor smiling in resignation as the referee finally raised his arm, pointing to Ash and Dartrix.

"Grotle is unable to battle!" he shouted, Ash and Dartrix looking surprised, but the former smiling widely as a loud, "Pikapi!" was heard, his Pokemon already running towards him. "Dartrix is the winner! The match, and the tournament, goes to Ash!"

"YAAAHHH!" The crowd roared their approval, cheering as Ash was mobbed by Pikachu, Dartrix, Hawlucha, Noctowl and Riolu, Greninja even popping out of his pokeball to nod his approval.

Clemont watched them a moment, smiling to himself, not feeling the least bit disappointed. Sure, he had wanted to win, and as he saw Sycamore pulling out the Key Stone, he knew it would've been cool to have it, but he couldn't have been more proud of the progress he'd made here. He turned around, seeing Grotle lumbering towards him, the grass type looking upset as he reached Clemont.

"Hey Grotle, you did absolutely amazing out there," Clemont told his Pokemon, kneeling down and hugging him. "Thank you for all your hard work."

"Grotle?" Grotle asked, looking surprised at the praise.

"Yeah, and you know what?" Clemont said, pulling something out of his pocket. He'd made sure to save some of his lunch, a sandwich from one of the snack vendors, to give it to Turtwig, or Grotle now, after the match. "This is for you."

"Grotle!" Grotle exclaimed happily, snapping up the sandwich, wrapper and all, and eating it in one bite. "Grot grotle!"

"NO! Don't eat the wrapper!" Clemont shouted, eyes widening as Grotle burped.

"Hey Clemont!" The inventor quickly turned around, noticing Ash and Dartrix approaching him, both looking as tired as Clemont, and he supposed Grotle, felt. "That was a great battle! Looks like Turtwig, I mean Grotle, has really grown a lot. And I don't just mean from the evolution!"

"Yeah!" Clemont agreed, smiling as he pet his grass type. "And Dartrix was great too. You guys really deserved the win."

"Thanks," Ash said, smiling as he high-fived Dartrix, the grass type quickly reaching up to move the leaves out of his eyes. "We should really battle again soon, Clemont. Maybe Grotle will evolve into Torterra next time!"

Clemont was about to answer, but in that moment, Professor Sycamore started to speak, the researcher quickly calling them over as he addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he called out, gesturing to Ash as he and Clemont came to a stop next to him. "I would like to congratulate everyone who competed and made this tournament as amazing as it could have possibly been. These two trainers are evidence of how much all of you have grown, many of you growing leaps and bounds before my eyes in this tournament. To see two Pokemon evolve in order to give their trainers the best chance of winning, it just shows how far we can all come when it comes to our relationship with Pokemon. Ash, Clemont, Dartrix and Grotle, thank you for giving us a great final battle."

The crowd cheered loudly again at that, while Ash exchanged an awkward smile with Clemont. "Really didn't expect it to turn out like this," he whispered, rubbing his neck in embarrassment, while Pikachu scrambled up onto his shoulder, nuzzling him happily and getting another cheer out of the crowd.

"Now," Professor Sycamore called out, holding the Key Stone in his hands, "as I mentioned prior to the tournament, I was looking to see the bonds between trainer and Pokemon come to light as they fought side by side to win this tournament. The winner today, has shown even more than I had hoped to see. All those competing have shown a great deal of progress.

"However, only one Key Stone can be rewarded, and I can't think of a more deserving winner. Ash," he said, looking towards the raven-haired trainer as he stepped up next to Sycamore, "I present to you this Key Stone. Congratulations on winning the Sycamore Mega Tournament!"

 **Author's Note:**

"Rigged!" "Rigged for Serena!" "Serena's going to win for sure!" "Why even bother because Serena's obviously going to win!" "No point, Serena's winning!" "Rigged, rigged, rigged!"

So...Ash won, huh? Are y'all surprised about that? Glad it could be a surprise for those of you who were convinced Serena would win. I tried to set it up so you could see any of Ash, Serena or Clemont winning, so hopefully it all worked out in the end. And of course, this will have significance later on.

As for the battles, obviously Clemont vs Dawn was less significant, and more about setting up Clemont as a threat for the final. I hope Ash vs Serena was good. It was tough, as I wanted to kind of make it so Ash was figuring a few things out about Serena during the battle, rather than making it about him trying to win. Also, originally, Rowlet was going to learn something else, but given the fact that Ominous Wind was sooooo much better, I went with that. And of course, I hope the evolutions worked out well in the final battle. I was back and forth a million times about evolving those two, but eventually decided they needed it. Also, I apologize if you hate that I ignored levels in the moves they learned upon evolution, but I thought they made for a better battle.

And I hope Hala's Z-Move show was okay. That was Team Rocket's main purpose for being involved here...to be blown off by a Z-Move. Of course...they won't forget what that was, and neither will Ash and company.

Hope you enjoyed, and see you next time.


	37. Eggsams

**Author's Note:**

Bonjour I am back! Hope everyone had a good holiday season...didn't want this to be left so long, but things were hectic, so sorry about that. Also had those oneshots come out, which admittedly probably could've been timed better, but what's done is done. We're good to go now, though.

Might as well get onto the chapter, and this one is a little bit of a breather...except for one part I suppose. Hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter 37: Eggsams**

"Can you show it to us again, Ash?" Shauna pleaded, leaning forward excitedly across the breakfast table they were all sitting at.

As the others around the table nodded, appearing just as excited, Ash pulled out the small box he'd put his new Key Stone in, the same one that held the ribbon he'd won in Coumarine City, and held the shiny stone up. He carefully passed it over to Shauna, while Tierno and Trevor looked at it from either side.

"It looks the same as yours, Trevs," Tierno pointed out, looking longingly at the stone, obviously still wishing that he'd managed to win the tournament. "I thought it would be a little different."

"It's the Mega Stone that would be different," Trevor told him, carefully taking the Key Stone from Shauna and looking at it, holding it up to his own which was on his camera. "As far as I know, a Key Stone will look the same as any other. The Mega Stone will be different depending on which Pokemon it works with." At that, he looked over to Ash, handing the stone over to Serena, who looked thoughtfully at the stone. "I guess you'll need to find a Mega Stone now, huh Ash? You have a few Pokemon that can mega evolve, right?"

Ash shrugged, looking up at Pikachu, who stared back curiously from his shoulder. "I do have a Charizard," he said, looking back at Trevor, the photographer's eyes lighting up in excitement at that. "There's also Sceptile...and if Gible ever evolves...I'm not really sure of all the Pokemon that _can_ mega evolve," he admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Maybe if your Riolu evolves, you can use it with him?" Clemont suggested, looking over at Serena as she showed the stone to the baby fighting type, while Absol peered closely at it, out of his pokeball while he ate his own breakfast.

"That'd be awesome, wouldn't it Serena?!" Ash exclaimed, immediately liking that idea, his eyes lighting up as he looked over to the Performer. "That would be good for either performances _or_ battles. Maybe you can ask Korrina about it, Clemont?" he suggested, turning back to the inventor.

Clemont's face went bright red at that, immediately looking down at his food and avoiding eye contact with anyone at the table. "Wh-why would you...how would I...I don't..."

"Don't you call her, like, _all_ the time?" Shauna teased, smirking over at him, holding up Skitty as it _meowed_ in agreement.

"No I don't!" Clemont seemed to squeak, his voice surprisingly high pitched. He managed to recover, though, taking a deep breath and looking back at Ash. "If...if I do end up talking to her, I'll ask her about it."

"Cool, thanks Clemont!" Ash said, giving a thumbs up and looking over to Serena as she handed the stone over to Dawn, who was in the process of giving her Spewpa its food.

"You'll be really tough to beat if you've got Greninja and a mega Pokemon with you," Serena laughed out, Riolu looking curious next to her.

Ash didn't really know how to think about that, knowing that it would definitely change things for him in a big battle. Part of him was excited about the thought, knowing that if he had that kind of firepower, he might very well be able to fare better against opponents like Alain or Anton with their Mega Charizard or Mega Scizor. Then again, he'd defeated a Mega Lucario with Pikachu, a Mega Absol with Hawlucha, and Greninja had defeated a couple mega evolved Pokemon in his special form. The challenge was sometimes what brought out the best in him and his Pokemon.

"Whatever you get to do with it, I can't wait to see," Dawn said after a moment, finally handing Ash the Key Stone back. "I just wish _I'd_ managed to win it," she admitted, Shauna and Tierno nodding in agreement.

"Maybe we can all find a Key Stone," Tierno suggested, looking over to Trevor. "Trevs, you never mentioned, how did you get yours?"

"Oh," Trevor chuckled nervously, turning a little and watching as the doors opened at the entrance to the dining hall, Marie walking in with her Happiny in her arms. "Well...you see-"

"Guys!" Ash looked up in surprise as Marie rushed towards them, her eyes going to him and Dawn. "Ash! Dawn! Professor Sycamore wants to see you!"

"What? About the IPL?" Dawn asked, sitting up a bit straighter. It _was_ a bit strange, since they'd only been called by Professor Sycamore once, when they'd been declared captains of the teams.

"I guess so," Marie said, shrugging as she sat down, helping herself to some of the fruit that Dawn was now leaving on the table as she sat up. "Doesn't seem like anything bad, though. He seemed kind of excited. Some kind of special event or something."

Dawn looked over to Ash as he stared blankly, wondering just what it could be for. "Come on, Ash, let's go!"

"Huh...oh right!" He quickly got up, taking one last bite of food, and then followed after Dawn, waving to his friends as he did so.

The two of them quickly made their way through the crowds of students and then out of the dining hall and into the lobby of the Greninja building, noticing Professor Sycamore waiting for them near the front doors. He seemed to be holding some envelopes in his hands, smiling over at the pair as he finished talking to a student that had been with him. As he noticed her leaving, Ash realized she looked a lot like Jessie's disguise during the tournament. This was confirmed as he and Dawn reached the Professor.

"That was Julie, in case you were wondering," he said, looking out the window as the girl walked away, a spring in her step as she reached the sidewalk and turned away. "I felt she deserved a bit of a consolation prize, given what happened with Team Rocket, so she was just collecting a Froakie, who just arrived from a breeder a few days ago."

"That's great!" Ash said, happy that the girl had managed to get something out of Team Rocket's meddling. He was sure she would've liked to participate, but getting a new Pokemon was definitely a positive, and maybe even the best prize of all. "Next time, Team Rocket won't stand a chance against her!"

Sycamore laughed at that, looking back at Ash. "Even if they do show up again, I doubt they'll have anything that can match Hala's Z-Move."

"Z-Move?" Ash and Dawn asked at the same time, before the latter seemed to realize what Sycamore was referring to. "Was that the move that Hala used with that Crabominable?"

Sycamore nodded. "Yes, it was quite impressive, wasn't it? I would love to learn more about it, as it seems somewhat similar to Mega Evolution. There was definitely a very strong connection between him and his Pokemon."

"Do you think he might teach us about it while he's here?" Ash asked excitedly, wondering if he could teach his Pokemon how to use powerful moves like that. When he'd noticed how tired Hala had seemed after using it, it had made him think of some of the moves he'd used with Greninja. _It might be good training for us if I can learn to use that kind of power._

"I suppose you'll have to ask Hala about that when you meet with him this week, but I'm sure he'll be excited to talk about one of his fields of expertise." Sycamore then paused, looking at the envelopes in his hand, before looking back at Ash and Dawn. "As for today, though, we've got something else to look forward to. This morning, I received an invitation for a special event that Coumarine College will be hosting this weekend."

"Is it another tournament?" Dawn asked, smirking as Ash's eyes lit up. Even though they'd just had one, he was definitely interested in getting another chance. As much as he'd learned at school so far, he probably hadn't had as much of a chance to get into meaningful battles as he had back when he'd been travelling. And considering he'd lost both his IPL matches, he was eager to get on a winning streak.

Sycamore laughed, noticing Ash's excited look, but then shook his head, handing one of the envelopes to Dawn. Ash noticed it had her name across the front and looked over her shoulder as she opened it up, a letter on the inside. She read the first part to herself, but read it aloud once she reached the most important part. "As a fellow competitor in the Interschool Pokemon League, Coumarine College would like to invite you, along with your teammates at Lumiose Unversity, to a special event hosted by the Coumarine College staff and students. A dance will be hosted in one of our prized Performance halls, where we hope you will join us in a night of celebration, along with our students, and competitors joining us from Shalour College and Laverre University. Formal dress is required."

"A what?" Ash asked, suddenly not so excited as he looked up nervously at Professor Sycamore. "Are we...do we really need to...?"

Dawn turned, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Ash. "Don't be silly, Ash!" she said, hitting him lightly on the arm. "Just because you don't want to go, doesn't mean our team shouldn't be able to. Besides, I'm sure Serena would love this."

"Huh? What does that have to do with-"

"We're going," Dawn interrupted, taking the rest of the envelopes from Professor Sycamore, who looked a little surprised as he watched the exchange in front of him. "Thanks Professor Sycamore. You can let them know we plan to participate. All of us!"

She started to drag Ash back towards the dining hall as Sycamore suddenly called out to them once more. "Make sure to tell Marie that she's welcome to come along as well. And Clemont's sister can help take care of the Pokemon if she wants to come as well!"

Dawn gave one last wave of acknowledgement before dragging Ash back into the dining hall, hurriedly pulling him towards their breakfast table once they were inside, their friends looking surprised at the very different reactions they seemed to be having. Ash wasn't exactly unhappy, it was just that he had been expecting something battle-related. He supposed it didn't make much difference on his face, though, with the way his friends were looking at him.

"What is it?" Serena finally asked, casting a concerned look at Ash, before turning her attention to Dawn, who passed out the envelopes.

"After the IPL matches, Coumarine College is hosting a dance. They've invited us, along with Shalour College and Laverre University," Dawn explained, sitting down next to Marie, while Ash managed to find his seat as well, finally looking over his own letter.

"A dance?" Tierno asked excitedly, already moving like it was about to start. "Cool, I can't wait to move and groove!"

"I don't think it'll be that kind of dancing," Trevor pointed out, chuckling a little.

"Us performers should be fine, right Serena?" Shauna said, happily reading over her own letter, looking over to the honey-blonde, who apparently didn't seem as happy, instead looking a little flustered, her cheeks reddening a little. "Serena?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah, I suppose so. Um...Dawn...is this part about the...is the last part right?" Serena managed to squeak out, pointing to a line on her letter.

Dawn smiled, almost like she knew what Serena was referring to, before she looked at the same section of her own letter. "Yep," she said proudly, looking around at everyone, before resting her eyes on Ash, while Serena seemed to do the same.

"What's true?" Clemont asked, quickly scanning over his own letter, before seemingly picking up on it, his eyes widening as he too started to look nervous, much like he'd been earlier when talking about Korrina.

Dawn laughed as she noticed his reaction, Shauna giggling as she read whatever it was as well. "We need dates."

* * *

The events from breakfast time were still swirling around Serena's mind, especially as she exchanged a look with Ash as they waited for Reggie to arrive to start their Breeding class. She couldn't deny that she was excited about the dance this weekend, knowing it should be a fun night. However, she knew that the next few days were going to be very nerve-wracking, and that wasn't even with her thinking about their team's desperate need to earn some points for the IPL.

 _Now's not the time to think about all of that_ , she told herself, looking back over to Ash, who was checking up on Riolu, while Pikachu watched from his shoulder. _Class is what's most important at the moment. And making sure Riolu is doing well_

"Dawn said that we'll probably be talking about our exams with Reggie today," Ash suddenly said, getting Serena's attention. "Apparently that's what they talked about yesterday. Seems like a lot of classes are involving our exams now. It's getting kind of crazy. I don't even know if I'll be able to pass our Healthcare class."

Serena giggled at that remembering their review class the previous day, when Ash had accidentally sprayed water, which was acting as a potion of some sort, into Hawlucha's face during an exercise. Ultimately, it had caused the table that Ash, Serena and Marie were working on, to become a few pieces of splintered wood, as the surprised fighting type lashed out with a few Karate Chop attacks.

"Speaking of that, is Hawlucha okay after yesterday?" Serena asked, managing to stop her giggling.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. I don't think Nurse Joy wants me to do any other exercises with him in her class, though. Too bad...I thought he might work for one of those bandaging ones." Serena bit back another laugh at that, remembering Pikachu's tail having been tied to his foot. She made a mental note to make sure to work a bit on those things with Ash before the exam came up. She'd managed to learn fairly well with Marie's help.

"Maybe you should do something with Riolu," Serena suggested, patting the young fighting type gently on the head. "He'll do a little less damage if something...you know...happens."

"Nothing will happen!" Ash said, looking a little indignant, before chuckling as he thought about it a moment. "Hmm...well, I guess maybe I should think about it. The others do seem to cause a bit more damage if there's a mistake. Oh well, it means they're strong! Right, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed happily, turning at the sound of the door opening, where Reggie was walking in.

Serena and Ash focused on the man, along with the rest of the class, as he made his way to his desk, placing his things on it, before standing in front to address everyone. "Hello class," Reggie greeted the group, a few students murmuring their own greeting back. "As some of you may have heard, today we'll be going over what you'll be doing for the exams coming up. I'll be checking up on your Pokemon and we'll confirm the details of what you'll be doing." Serena noticed Clemont opening up his notebook in the seat in front, already getting ready to get the information needed for his exam with Shauna and Skitty.

"Feeling good, Riolu?" Ash whispered to the Emanation Pokemon, giving him one last look over to see if anything was wrong. Serena wasn't worried, though, knowing that taking care of Pokemon was something she and Ash could definitely ace with any class.

"Ruru!" Riolu said a little loudly, getting a laugh out of some of the students, before Reggie continued.

"Exams will be starting up over the next few weeks before your break, so most of our focus will be on the status of the Pokemon you received from your eggs," the man said, looking around at some of the Pokemon that were out. "I'll give a background on some things like nutrition and healthcare which will help in other classes, but there will also be plenty of work you'll need to do with your partners, or independently if your partner isn't in the same class. Out of class, you'll also need to do some training to make sure you're ready for your battle or performance."

Serena looked over to Ash, noticing that he seemed both excited and confused. Obviously, he couldn't wait to get started on training and getting Riolu ready, but he could see there was definitely going to be plenty of classwork as well. "We'll be able to do this, right Ash?" she said, winking at him.

"Of course! It'll be just like getting my Pokemon ready for a gym battle," he said, nodding confidently. "Riolu will do great."

Reggie continued for a few minutes after that, explaining what the process would be for the different exam choices that people had chosen for their Pokemon. For Serena, Ash and Riolu, along with the others who had selected performances, their exams would be taking place at the theatre in the training facilities, where Reggie would be judging them along with Fantina who had offered her help.

"Performances will not be judged as strictly as official competitions such as Showcases and IPL matches," Reggie was quick to explain. "The most important part of all your exams is how you have raised your Pokemon, and how you work with it."

Once he was done explaining some of the exam process, he went through some of the nutrition material he'd discussed earlier. While it appeared that most of the class, including Serena and Ash, had been keeping their Pokemon well fed, Reggie was careful to inform them of some important foods and diets that were particularly helpful in the growth of young Pokemon. Serena was also interested to learn about some of the different diets that were helpful for Pokemon that were more focused on performing.

By the time he was done, there were still a few minutes left in the class, giving Reggie enough time to go around and do a quick checkup on the Pokemon. As Serena and Ash waited, they once again looked over Riolu, making sure he was doing well. Of course, he looked fine, particularly in comparison to Ash, who looked pretty tired after the class, clearly still not used to sitting through lectures like that after all the travelling he'd done. Serena couldn't really blame him, feeling a bit restless at this point herself.

"What Pokemon do you think we should use with Riolu for the exam?" Ash asked after a moment, yawning in unison with Pikachu. "We do get to use another, right?"

"Yeah," Serena said, having almost forgotten that in all the information received in the class today. "Well...I haven't really thought about it. Riolu hasn't really had a chance to work with any of my Pokemon in a Performance yet."

"Hm...I guess Braixen is probably our best bet," Ash said, looking thoughtful. "But maybe...maybe we should try using another Pokemon that hasn't performed before."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked, surprised at the idea, although she didn't want to disagree just yet, knowing Ash must've had a reason for suggesting it.

"If Riolu is working with an experienced Performer, like Braixen, it might be tough for him to keep up. I bet he'd learn more, sure, but maybe he could learn just by having your other Pokemon helping us in training. If we have another Pokemon who hasn't performed join in on the exam, they can learn along with him, and then they'll know what to do together." He stopped for a moment, looking at Riolu, the fighting type looking interested in what he was saying. Serena, although a little hesitant, could somewhat understand as well. "I was thinking Hawlucha might be a good idea. He likes to put on a show, and he and Riolu get along really well."

Serena knew that Braixen, Sylveon or Pancham would probably be able to perform very well alongside Riolu. Really, she wasn't worried about the exam, knowing she and Ash could likely figure out a routine that Riolu would be able to perform quite well. However, she did want to make this easy on the young Pokemon, and Ash had a point about giving him a partner that could learn alongside him, and also encourage him. And Hawlucha definitely had some kind of Performer's blood in him. "I think it's a good idea. Yeah, Hawlucha should be great!"

Riolu seemed quite pleased by that giving a little cheer as Reggie appeared at their desks, smiling at the small fighting type. "Looks like Riolu is doing very well," he said, leaning down and examining the Emanation Pokemon a little more closely. "Eating well?"

"Any Pokemon of mine always eats well," Ash assured the Pokemon Breeder. "We'll make sure to try some of that stuff you were talking about in class, though."

"That's good, although if he's doing well, there's no need to change things too much," Reggie pointed out. "Do whatever you do with Pikachu and it should be fine."

"Maybe with a little less ketchup, though," Ash joked, exchanging a smile with Pikachu. Serena had definitely noticed Pikachu's love of ketchup, with the electric mouse grabbing a packet whenever he could from the dining hall before many of their meals.

After another moment of checking over Riolu, Reggie appeared to check them off on a list, before looking up at them curiously. "So, any ideas for how the exam performance will go?" he asked, directing the question at Serena.

"We were just talking about maybe using Ash's Hawlucha with Riolu, since they get along so well, and it might be easier for Riolu to work with another Pokemon that isn't experienced with performing," Serena explained, starting to like the idea more and more now that she thought of it. A few routines were already on her mind. It seemed like a good opportunity for her to work on something different that could help her out in her future official performances.

Reggie looked interested in the idea as well, nodding. "It could certainly make things more comfortable for him."

"Serena's the best Performer there is, so I bet she'll help them do something awesome!" Ash said confidently, looking like he wanted to start performing right then and there.

* * *

"Awww, that's too bad that you didn't win," Korrina said sadly, giving Clemont a sympathetic look. "I can tell you gave it everything you got, though! Good for you, Clemont!"

On the screen in front of her, Clemont's face was a mixture of happy and confused. "I thought I was supposed to accept nothing but losing," he said, although not very seriously as he did add a short laugh to the question.

Korrina jokingly narrowed her eyes. "You know that's not what I meant!" she told him. "I just wanted you to go in there with confidence, knowing you had a chance. And besides, it was a close match, right? You easily could've won."

Clemont chuckled nervously at that, rubbing his nose a little. "I don't know...Ash seems to find a way. Even you know that, right?"

"I guess that's true," Korrina laughed out. "But hey, the real victory is that your Pokemon evolved! How's Grotle doing?"

"I don't know," Clemont admitted, looking slightly worried. "He's a bit too big for the dorm room now, so he's kind of down about that. Lost some speed, too. Ash says his Torterra went through the same thing when it evolved, so hopefully he'll be okay. He's still trying to eat my notebooks."

"He'll be fine, I'm sure of it!" Korrina said encouragingly. "Maybe I can help you train with him when I see you this weekend."

Clemont jumped a little in surprise at that. "See me? Wh-what do you mean?" he asked, fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat.

Korrina smiled, amused by his nervousness. "The dance, Clemont! The one in Coumarine! You're going, right? You and the others?"

"Um...yeah, I guess so," he muttered, now avoiding eye contact. "But...uh...I don't dance. And apparently we...um..."

"Need a date?" Korrina finished for him, smiling brightly. She wasn't going to make this hard for him. "You've got one! We're going together, aren't we?"

"Huh? What? I...to-together? Us?" If he hadn't been so shocked, Korrina was sure he'd be as red as a Tamato Berry.

"Please, Clemont?" She waited a moment for him to recover a bit, before persisting. "Do you need to check with your sister?"

That seemed to do it. "What?! No!" He quickly shook his head, managing an awkward smile as he leaned forward. "Y-yes. I would like to go with you."

"Awesome! Well, I guess I'll see you on the weekend after the matches then. Our school should be there by Sunday! Make sure to wear something nice!" With that, she ended the call, feeling her own sense of awkwardness now that all of that had been arranged. Had she just asked Clemont on a date? Did this mean they were...?

A bell suddenly rang out from the front desk of the Pokemon Centre she was in, and Korrina quickly looked up, noticing Nurse Joy walking out with her pokeballs. "You're Pokemon are all in fighting shape, Korrina," she said happily as the Shalour Gym Leader approached.

"Great! Thanks Nurse Joy!" She quickly took the pokeballs, eager to get started on the rest of her day, now that classes were done, and she still had time before one of her grandfather's training sessions at the gym. With another wave towards Nurse Joy, Korrina turned and made her way out of the Pokemon Centre, and set off on the path towards the forest.

Over the past few weeks, she'd continued to do mini searches whenever she had time. With Officer Jenny and the police having moved their investigation out of the surrounding area, it had been easier to search more recently. However, Korrina had been disappointed with the results so far, finding nothing that could help, with the exception of an abandoned site that had already been found by police. Even with Elekid helping most of the time, all the best locations where people could've been hiding appeared to have no signs of activity.

It was a little discouraging, especially since Korrina had hoped to inform Clemont and the others of some kind of progress, but she supposed that working on her own with just her Pokemon and Elekid wasn't going to be as effective as she'd hoped. She'd considered asking some of her IPL teammates to help, but knew it wasn't a good idea to attract too much attention. They had been told to stay out of it after all.

"Bee bee bee!"

The sudden shout, accompanied by a spark of electricity shooting into the air, brought Korrina out of her thoughts, and she looked up, noticing Elekid emerging from the forest, waving his little arms in greeting. She quickly called out Lucario, who stepped forward to exchange a fist bump with the electric type, before greeting it herself. They'd become fairly good friends with this Elekid, and Korrina was definitely glad to have its support. He definitely seemed to know the forest fairly well, and even though they hadn't found much, at least Elekid had helped them to avoid searching the same places too much.

"Hey Elekid, doing okay?" Korrina asked, kneeling down and giving the electric type a pokepuff that she'd picked up at the Pokemon Centre, before handing over another to Lucario. From what she'd heard of Serena's pokepuffs, these probably weren't nearly as good, but the two Pokemon seemed to enjoy them.

"Bee bee!" Elekid thanked her, before turning around, apparently deciding to get to business right away. He pointed ahead, not even looking back before starting to march forward. Korrina exchanged an amused glance with Lucario before the two of them followed after the Electric Pokemon.

With that, they were on yet another trek through the forest, one that was becoming quite familiar to them by this point. Korrina was definitely still glad to have Elekid with them, though, knowing that she could likely still get lost if she spent too long looking around, and ventured too deep. It definitely seemed like Elekid had learned about all the best places to go. From what Korrina could see, he had probably been here quite a long time, and didn't seem to spend much time with other Pokemon.

Korrina had considered trying to catch Elekid a few times, but she'd realized fairly quickly that he wasn't too comfortable leaving the forest. It was likely the reason he'd attacked her and Clemont back when they'd been searching for Absol when he'd run away during Serena's performance. It had almost made her wonder if perhaps he'd had some kind of run-in with the hunters that had been around here, but she knew from Absol that if a Pokemon managed to escape them, they'd be scarred quite severely, and not just physically.

With the thought of the damage these hunters could do on her mind, Korrina picked up her pace, noticing Lucario and Elekid walk a little faster in front of her once they noticed. Perhaps they wouldn't find much more in the forest, but they had to try. The least it would do, was eliminate the possibility that they were still lurking near Shalour City. If they could do that, people in neighbouring cities might be able to stay on higher alert, knowing the hunters could be near them. It wouldn't be a big victory, but it was her duty as a Gym Leader to give her best effort, and help in any way she could.

As they continued walking, Korrina made note of some of the places they'd searched previously as they passed them. When they passed the original clearing they'd found with Clemont and the others, she noticed that it had been cleaned up, the police apparently done with the investigation completely in that area. A few Pokemon were peacefully playing there, and it did make Korrina glad that it wasn't such a gruesome clearing anymore. She did wish she'd had a better chance to look over it before, though, not able to help but wonder if Officer Jenny and the others had missed some important detail.

When they'd been walking for a little over half an hour, Elekid began to slow down, apparently deciding they were nearing an area they could look around. Korrina was happy with that, noticing that they were in a fairly unrecognizable part of the forest at this point. She couldn't help but notice the cautious looks from some of the Pokemon around as she looked, getting the feeling that they were distrustful of her. While she wanted them to know she was no threat, she did feel this could be a sign that the hunters may have been around this area, and perhaps recently.

"Bee bee..."

"Something wrong, Elekid?" Korrina asked, stopping as she noticed the electric type halt in front of her, looking around curiously.

"Ru..." Lucario growled out, narrowing his eyes and tensing up.

Korrina immediately felt a sense of danger, but when she looked around and listened for any sign of trouble, she couldn't spot anything. It made the activity of the surrounding Pokemon more understandable, though. She had the sense that something had happened in this area, and that it hadn't been pleasant. Fortunately, though, it appeared there was no current sign of danger, so her suspicions about whatever threat, which may very well be the hunters, being gone, was likely true.

"Think there's anything around here, guys?" Korrina called out to Elekid and Lucario. Both Pokemon remained tense as they looked around, studying their surroundings closely. They watched some of the Pokemon rustling through the bushes, or scurrying up into the trees, but other than that they didn't seem to notice anything else. Eventually, they both relaxed a little, each looking to Korrina and shaking their heads.

The three of them waited a moment longer, a bit more cautious now, given the behaviour of some of the Pokemon, but eventually Elekid led them a little further ahead and into another clearing. While no hunters were around, Korrina was becoming more and more certain that they had, indeed, been around this part of the forest. Perhaps not even many of them, but there had likely been some activity recently. The Pokemon were too nervous for it to be anything natural.

Taking a look around the clearing they were in, Korrina didn't notice anything sticking out, but she knew it was probably a good place to start. With the very clearly nervous Pokemon around, they had a better chance than most days of finding some sign of activity. She doubted they would find a scene like they did on the day of the IPL match, though, considering that had likely been a site where the hunters had needed to leave quickly. It was possible they'd been a little more hidden in this part of the forest, at least for a smaller number of them.

"Anything sticking out, Elekid?" Korrina asked the electric type, wondering if he'd be able to lead them to anything specific.

Elekid didn't seem to be too sure of anything, though, turning around and shrugging in her direction. However, just as Korrina was about to start looking around, noticing Lucario already starting to do so, she noticed something approaching from the trees. Lucario quickly stopped his searching, noticing the movement as well, and the two of them watched as a Fletchling came to a stop, hovering in front of Elekid.

"Fletch! Fletching fletch!" the Tiny Robin Pokemon chirped out, sounding a little panicked, but looking a little relieved upon seeing their group. "Fletchling!"

"Bee bee!" Elekid's eyes widened, and he turned to Korrina. "Bee!" he said, pointing at Fletchling, who turned around and started flying into some bushes.

Korrina looked over to Lucario, who nodded back, having understood whatever was said between the two other Pokemon. "All right, let's go!" she said, nodding and quickly following after Elekid and Fletchling.

It was about another five minutes as they made their way deeper into the forest, going through thick bushes and muddy paths. However, eventually Fletchling brought them to a large tree, where a nest of leaves lay on low hanging branch. The Tiny Robin Pokemon looked to Korrina with a pleading look in its eyes, before flying over towards the branch, and looking inside. It was then that Korrina heard a small, very soft, whining sound.

"Vi...vi...vi..."

She took a few steps forward, holding her hand up for Elekid and Lucario to wait. When she approached, the noise grew a little louder, and she quickly started to recognize what kind of Pokemon it must've been. And when she finally looked into the small nest of leaves, her suspicions were proved true, seeing the very sickly looking Vivillon, with the Elegant pattern, lying there, breathing heavily. It looked poorly fed and badly scarred.

"Was this Vivillon with the hunters?" Korrina asked the Fletchling, her eyes wide with the horror of what she was seeing. The Fletchling nodded, looking pleadingly at her, and she knew it wanted her to take it to a Pokemon Centre as fast as possible. She nodded back, very carefully reaching into the nest and scooping the Pokemon up into her arms, before looking back towards Elekid and Lucario. "All right you two, we need...Lucario?"

She was surprised to see the Aura Pokemon approaching her, looking down, apparently noticing something at her feet. He seemed to be almost drawn to whatever it was, his ears raised up a little and his eyes sharpened. As Korrina held up the Vivillon in her arms, keeping it close and ensuring it was comfortable, she watched as Lucario bent down, picking something up off the ground in front of her.

"Ru ru..." he growled out, slowly rising and holding up the item he'd picked up.

"Fletch fletchling..." Fletchling squeaked out fearfully, apparently signalling that the item had come from the hunters.

Korrina narrowed her eyes at that, examining it closely as Lucario held it up to her. "What are the hunters doing with a Lucarionite?"

* * *

"Hawlucha, I choose you!" Ash tossed out the pokeball as Serena and Riolu stepped forward onto the stage in front of him, Braixen out there with them. The fire type seemed to be excited about her coaching role, and Serena seemed just as excited to work with some different Pokemon for a Performance routine.

"Lucha!" Hawlucha shouted out, emerging from the pokeball with a flip in midair, before striking a pose in front of the trio before him.

"Looks like Hawlucha's all ready to get going!" Serena laughed out, Braixen smiling next to her as Hawluch bowed.

Ash nodded, chuckling a little as he made his way forward and knelt next to his fighting type. "Hey Hawlucha, we've come up with something a little...unusual, and I think you might be able to do a really great job with it."

"Haw...hawlucha?" Hawlucha said questioningly, tilting his head.

"See...Riolu is going to be doing a Performance for one of our exams," Ash explained, looking over to the young fighting type. "He gets to perform with another Pokemon, though, and we thought, even though you're more of a fighter, you would work really well with Riolu. I think it might even help to give us some ideas for our battles in the future. You never know what kinds of strategies we might come up with."

Hawlucha didn't seem too sure as Ash finished his explanation, looking somewhat hesitant. Ash knew that, although Hawlucha loved his theatrics, his true calling was a hard fought battle where he could exchange blow after blow with his opponents. He did seem to think it through, though, looking over to Riolu and Serena, each looking excitedly back, the latter adding an encouraging smile. Eventually, Hawlucha looked back at Ash and gave him a confident nod, clearly ready to prove he could be successful in this unusual task.

"Awesome! Thanks, Hawlucha!" Ash said, giving the hawk a fist bump, before getting to his feet and going to the back of the stage. He would do his best to contribute to the Performance, but he knew that letting Serena test things out to begin with was their best way to start their training.

"I'm sure you'll do a great job, Hawlucha!" Serena said encouragingly to the fighting type. "And don't worry, I'll help you and Riolu as much as I can."

"Ru ru!" Riolu added, looking excited to get started.

"Haw hawlucha!" Hawlucha nodded, flexing his muscles as he looked up at Serena.

"All right, so what I was thinking, was trying to focus on Hawlucha and Riolu as fighting types, since they aren't as well known for their special attacks," Serena suggested to Ash. "Maybe their Performance can be more like...a mock battle."

"Think that could work?" Ash asked, surprised at the suggestion. He knew that they wouldn't be able to do anything quite like Serena's regular performances, but he'd expected something a little more "Performance-like".

"The idea of a Performance, and even just the exam, is to show how close we are to our Pokemon, and how we've raised them and grown together" Serena pointed out. "It's not always about being the flashiest. It's something I've thought about ever since watching your battles."

Ash didn't expect that, looking up in confusion at Pikachu on his shoulder, before returning his gaze to Serena. "My battles? How can they work for performances?"

Serena paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Your battles always show how close you are with your Pokemon. Especially with your Pokemon like Pikachu or Greninja, or even Hawlucha here. You're always fighting as partners, and it never really seems like it's a trainer and a Pokemon. It's almost like you're out on the field with them, encouraging them through all the toughest moments and enjoying all the best moments. I think that's something that we can show in a Performance. And I Hawlucha and Riolu would be perfect to do it with!"

Ash thought on that for a moment, immediately liking the idea. He always liked to think of himself as a trainer that fought _with_ his Pokemon, rather than simply commanding them from the sidelines. That's what training had always been about. It was something he particularly enjoyed about his special bond with Greninja. He loved the idea that he was out there with his Pokemon, battling as one. The idea of showing that off in a Performance seemed like the perfect way to involve him, and he was sure that if anyone could pull something like that off, it was Serena. She'd definitely come to know him very well, and he couldn't have been happier to be working with her on this.

"Yeah, I think that could be awesome!" he finally said, Serena smiling brightly at his answer.

"Great!" she said, turning and looking at Braixen. "Okay, well the first thing I think we should do, is have Braixen help demonstrate. Maybe Hawlucha should go first as well, so Riolu can see how he does it."

Ash nodded in agreement, stepping back a bit as Braixen and Hawlucha both stepped in front of Serena, each preparing to get started. He couldn't help but laugh as Braixen faced out towards where the audience would normally be, while Hawlucha faced Braixen as though she was an opponent in battle. The fighting type seemed to realize it quickly, though, turning and facing the imaginary audience as well.

"All right, Braixen get things started with Flamethrower! Spin and start to approach Hawlucha!" Serena ordered, stepping forward and starting a pirouette of her own as Braixen began, her branch extended outwards as small bursts of flames began shooting out. "And Hawlucha, you...um...use Flying Press and fly over Braixen to extinguish the flames."

"Lucha?" The Wrestling Pokemon quickly glanced back at Ash, who nodded for him to listen to Serena, before he leaped upwards while the spinning Braixen approached, circles of flames left behind her. The fighting type spread his cape-like wings midair, posing proudly, before rocketing himself downwards and straight into the flames. The speed at which he moved was perfect for what Serena had apparently envisioned, creating a gust of wind as he darted through the circles of flames, blowing them outwards as Braixen finished on one side of the stage and he landed softly at the other end. When both Pokemon looked back, the flames had died, a few embers dropping down as Serena and Ash cheered for the successful start.

"Perfect! Great job, Hawlucha!" Serena called out, the fighting type looking quite proud of himself as she did so, posing to the imaginary crowd and bowing, already starting to enjoy the performing he had seemed hesitant about. "Do you want to try something now, Riolu?" Serena asked, kneeling down next to the younger fighting type, who looked awed by his idol's immediate success.

"Ru ru!" Riolu nodded quickly, clearly ready to start as soon as possible. Riolu didn't know many moves yet, with being so young, but in a little test earlier, he had shown off some talent that Serena had been sure she could work with, so Ash was excited to see what she had in mind.

Hawlucha and Riolu then switched places, Braixen remaining out front to help guide Riolu through his first try. When the two of them were ready, Serena and Ash looked at one another, Ash nodding to signal he was ready, before Serena called out her orders. "Let's test out Riolu's speed first. Braixen, use Hidden Power! Riolu, use Quick Attack and jump over it!"

"BraiiiXEN!" Braixen shouted, forming the orb quickly, before launching it forwards towards Riolu, who tensed up, ready for his first real test of his abilities.

"Ru ru!" he cried out, breaking out into a run. Ash clenched his fists, a little nervous to see the young fighting type charging towards the incoming attack. He remained confident, though, trusting that Riolu could be successful. "Ru!" the Emanation Pokemon cried out once more as he reached the orb with his speedy run, before suddenly jumping and flipping right over it, his body seemingly rolling over the orb as he did so. He came to a stop, stumbling a little, before rising up and looking proudly over to Serena, and then Ash.

"You did it!" Ash called out, quickly running up to the fighting type, along with Serena and the other Pokemon. When he reached Riolu, he knelt down, quickly picking him up and smiling up at him. "That was an awesome Quick Attack! You might be as fast as Pikachu someday!"

"Pika!" Pikachu said in agreement, looking just as pleased.

"I was pretty nervous at first, but that was a great start, Riolu," Serena added, looking happy for the small success, but also relieved.

"Lucha lucha!" Hawlucha said as well, almost looking like he was tearing up as he held a clawed hand up to his eyes, before reaching out with a fist, which Riolu happily bumped his own against as Ash put him back down.

"So what do you say, Riolu?" Serena asked, standing back up. "Want to try a few other things? And you as well, Hawlucha?"

Ash smiled as both Pokemon nodded excitedly. Performing wasn't something he would want to do forever, but he could definitely see why Serena enjoyed it, just from this small practice session so far. He couldn't wait to see what they came up with for a final routine, and he could already tell that their Pokemon were going to pull off something great.

They spent the next two hours practising little mini routines, making sure that both Riolu and Hawlucha could get a proper feeling for what performing was like, before they would begin with something more complicated. Ash supposed it was also for his benefit, as he wasn't exactly experienced with it either. Serena was definitely a good teacher, though, being very patient with all of them, no matter how many questions Ash had, or no matter how many times Hawlucha would start trying to pull Pikachu into a training battle when he got frustrated with some of his mistakes.

It was becoming more and more apparent to him that the more time he spent with Serena, Ash was enjoying it more and more. He enjoyed spending time with all of his friends, of course, but he had definitely enjoyed just the two of them working with their Pokemon for a few hours today. It was something different, and a good learning experience when it came to performances, but it was also something...special. It was like the night they'd gone out to dinner together, just the two of them. It made him wonder about what was happening on the weekend. _Dawn did mention we needed to go to the dance with someone...maybe I should..._

"I think that's probably good enough for today, Ash," Serena suddenly said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Riolu seems to be getting pretty tired." She then laughed upon looking at Ash. "You look kind of tired too. I don't think you were even paying attention to our last routine."

"Huh...no I...I was thinking about something," Ash muttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously. He was definitely a little more uncomfortable than he'd been a couple of minutes ago. Stopping for the day was probably a good idea, before he got too lost in his thoughts. His stomach rumbled loudly as if in answer, and he was grateful for the excuse.

"I guess that's what it was," Serena said, giggling as Ash blushed, rubbing his stomach. "Let's go eat, then!"

Ash nodded, pulling out Hawlucha's pokeball and recalling the Wrestling Pokemon back into it, while Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder. Serena recalled Braixen as well, before she picked up Riolu. With that, the two of them made their way out of the theatre, out into the lobby of the training facilities and out onto the streets of Lumiose City.

As the two of them walked, Ash a few steps behind Serena, he couldn't help but imagine what she would look like at the Coumarine dance.

 **Author's Note:**

Oh Ashy boy...is something on your mind?

Obviously not too too much happened this chapter, but we now know that a dance will be coming up after the final IPL match of the semester, and that our heroes need to bring a date. I know, I know...kind of cheesy and maybe a bit cliche but it gives us an opportunity for some you know what moments that have been very minor in comparison to GCTO. And...other things may connect to it.

And of course, Riolu is now in training, learning some Performance tricks along with Hawlucha for their exam. Not super important, but it gives him an opportunity to get some focus, along with developing him as a Pokemon that can have a style that's a mix of Ash and Serena.

Most important of course, was Korrina's little adventure, and finding the Vivillon in the forest, along with a Lucarionite. How very mysterious...I wonder what all of this could mean.

And with that, we wait till the next chapter. Don't worry, it won't be a crazy gap. There is a special surprise for everyone, though. Today is a special day! My new story, which is actually an old story, debuts today! "Generation Z – Hoenn Alone" which is a reboot of an old cancelled story, "Pokemon – Generation Bonnie", is out now! I've published the prologue and the first chapter, and you can expect chapters 2 and 3 on Wednesday. I hope you'll all give it a shot. I think it'll be fun for anyone who misses the adventure aspect of GCTO that you can't quite get in a story like this. So, bye for now, and hopefully you enjoy.


	38. A Proposal

**Author's Note:**

Welcome to another chapter of Lumiose University. This one was kind of tough, with a few different things going on, but hopefully it worked out okay. And before you read...certain things are not a big deal. Just be patient. Hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 38: A Proposal**

With exam time coming up fast, Dawn and her friends were making sure to train as much as possible for their various practical exams. With the next IPL match coming up, it was tough to balance what they were training for, but luckily for Dawn, she felt comfortable enough training for both her exams and the IPL with the same Pokemon. Even though Spewpa was new to her team, she was sure that the bug type could provide a fresh look for her in her upcoming match, and after its performances in the tournament, Dawn was confident in its abilities. Training with Clemont and Shauna's Skitty proved that it definitely had the ability to control a battle.

"Skitty, use Tackle!"

"Spin and use Harden, Spewpa!"

The Kitten Pokemon ran forward, looking more focused than Dawn had ever seen it, approaching her bug type quickly as it spun in place, glowing as its cocooned body hardened. Skitty bowed her head low, just before reaching Spewpa, crying out as she barrelled into it. Unfortunately for her, Spewpa's defensive move, something Dawn had worked on to make better use of Harden, deflected the pink feline to the side, where it stumbled and fell.

"Awww...again?" Shauna called out in frustration, her and Clemont now having failed in six straight attempts to get around Spewpa's defence. "Contest battles are even tougher than I thought."

"You'll get the hang of it," Dawn said, recalling Spewpa to its pokeball as Clemont moved over from the sidelines to check on Skitty. "Besides, you probably won't be battling a Pokemon who is too experienced in your exam. I mean, even though I got Spewpa not too long ago, she's already experienced quite a bit."

"And Dawn's an experienced Coordinator. It makes sense for Spewpa to progress a little quicker with her," Clemont pointed out. "We'll just keep practising and eventually we'll find something Skitty can do well. I think I already have a few more ideas."

"Mrrrow!" Skitty yawned, apparently not too worried either, although she nuzzled Clemont affectionately, apparently understanding what he was saying.

Dawn watched them a moment, glad to see that Clemont finally seemed to be getting closer to Skitty, who had seemed to be only sticking with Shauna since hatching. Of course, it wasn't too much different with Happiny, who Dawn was still able to work with, but she clearly preferred Marie. It seemed like Ash and Serena's Riolu was the only baby Pokemon of their group that didn't really have a favourite.

The thought made her look towards the battlefield next to them, where Ash and Serena were doing some more training with Riolu. They'd seemed to be struggling a little earlier, with Riolu showing some signs of tiring after a couple straight days of hard training, but he was putting up a good effort at this point, and Dawn was impressed with what she could see. The small fighting type seemed to have great speed, and used his feet well, which complimented Hawlucha's ability to fight in close as their routine appeared to focus on their fighting type attributes.

It was a little surprising to Dawn, watching the pair command the two Pokemon. Not really when it came to Serena, but while Ash had shown knowledge on contests and performances before, he'd never seemed like he'd be able to make a fighter like Hawlucha so willing to participate. The fighting type seemed to relish the challenge, which Dawn supposed was where Ash had managed to convince him. He and his Pokemon were all so similar in that way.

As they watched Riolu and Hawlucha finish up a mini routine, Ash looked over, noticing his friends observing, immediately getting a challenging look in his eyes. "Hey Clemont," he said, eyes going to his friend, who still held Skitty, "how about we finish our training off with a little battle?"

"Ash..." Serena said, looking nervously towards Riolu, who watched Ash curiously. He seemed to figure out what his trainer was proposing, or one of his trainers anyways, but he didn't seem against it. The Emanation Pokemon actually exchanged an excited look with Hawlucha, who looked like he was quite proud, watching his young disciple about to compete in his first battle.

Dawn was probably most surprised in Shauna's response, Clemont looking a little unsure as he looked back to the Performer. "Yeah, Clemont! Let's do it. Skitty could probably learn a few things that will help it in our Contest battle. Maybe that's why we're having some trouble. If we don't try a real battle, Skitty won't know what things to expect and what to work on."

"I guess that makes sense," Clemont said, smiling as he looked down to the Kitten Pokemon. "What do you think, Skitty?"

"Mrowww," she cried out, tilting her head in curiosity, before looking over at Riolu. Then she nodded, not looking too sure, but seeing the eagerness in Shauna's eyes as she looked back to her.

"Just be careful," Serena warned, as Ash excitedly led Riolu towards the battlefield Dawn, Clemont and Shauna were using.

"Don't worry," Ash said, as he and Riolu took their places, Clemont and Skitty positioning themselves opposite them, "they're both just starting out. Nothing too crazy will happen."

Dawn, Shauna and Serena all moved over to the sidelines as the boys prepared to battle, Dawn noticing Serena still looking a little worried, although clearly curious to see how Riolu would do. It would definitely be interesting to see how the two young Pokemon would fare, both having been working quite hard lately.

"You guys have been training Riolu well," Dawn said to the Performer, watching as Hawlucha seemed to be giving the Emanation Pokemon a few quick pointers. "I think he's more than ready to try out a real battle. And it won't be dangerous. Skitty's just starting out too."

"Both of them will be able to learn a lot from it," Shauna agreed, nodding. "And I can't wait to see more of what you and Ash have done with Riolu. You two definitely seem to have been working well together..."

Dawn bit back a laugh as Serena tensed up at that, turning her head back to watch as Ash and Clemont finally seemed ready to begin the battle. Pikachu seemed to be acting as referee for whatever reason, sending a Thunderbolt into the air as the signal to start, jumping up from his spot on the sidelines.

"Riolu, Quick Attack!" Ash shouted, throwing his fist forward as he started the battle.

"Skitty, use Fake Out!" Clemont countered, watching closely as Riolu darted forward.

"Mrow!" Skitty cried out, tensing up and looking like she was about to run forward, before stopping, causing Riolu to slow down in surprise, before Skitty ran around his side and barrelled into him. The fighting type fell to his side, crying out in surprise from the attack.

Dawn was surprised as she watched, knowing Skitty had struggled with initiating attacks while training against her and Spewpa. Perhaps it was better at responding to its opponents moves first. She supposed Clemont must've noticed that, the inventor now waiting for Ash's next command, instead of having Skitty stay on the offensive.

"Focus Blast!" Ash ordered, clearly willing to take the lead.

"Ash, that move isn't ready!" Serena called, shaking her head as Riolu got up, forming a yellow sphere of energy in his hands, while Skitty tensed up across from him. "Ash was hoping to teach Riolu that move for our performance, but..."

Dawn saw a moment later as the sphere went flying way over top of Skitty, exploding into another battlefield, which was luckily unoccupied. "I guess Focus Blast doesn't have...enough focus."

Serena sighed, unable to stop herself from giggling a little as Ash laughed, clearly not bothered by the missed attack. "Oh well, we'll get it to work soon, right Riolu?" he called out to the Emanation Pokemon, who nodded back, looking quite pleased, despite the failed attack.

"Ash is something else, isn't he?" Shauna laughed, the three of them watching as the raven-haired trainer ordered a Quick Attack, this time using the speed to avoid a Sing attack from Skitty in response, before Riolu drove his body into the Kitten Pokemon, sending it skidding along the ground. "Has he asked you to the dance yet, Serena?"

"What?!" Serena squeaked, eyes wide as she nudged Shauna, apparently thinking the comment was too loud. "N-no! W-we've been busy training."

"You've been spending a lot of time together, that's for sure," Dawn pointed out, smiling as she watched Riolu use Endure to hold his ground on a Tackle attack from Skitty, something she'd seen him do when watching him train with Hawlucha earlier. "If he doesn't ask you, he's as dense as a brick."

Serena seemed conflicted about what to say, her face quite red at this point. They watched Riolu and Skitty exchange another couple of attacks, before she spoke up. "I...I hope he does," she finally admitted, although it didn't get much of a response from Dawn and Shauna, who were already well aware of the Performer's feelings. "He hasn't really mentioned anything about it, though. Only something about what to do with his Pokemon while we're there."

Dawn partly wanted to laugh at that, but opted for just giving Serena a comforting pat on the back as they watched the match finish up in front of them. It seemed like Clemont had figured out a couple of good strategies to keep Skitty in the battle, but overall, Ash and Riolu were clearly the better team. With Clemont finally deciding to go on the offensive, ordering a Tackle in a last ditch effort, Ash had Riolu use Counter, the fighting type throwing Skitty back across the battlefield as it charged into him.

"Pika! Pikapi pika!" Pikachu declared, waving his tail in Ash's direction, obviously pointing out his trainer as the winner of the battle.

"Aww," Shauna said, pouting a bit as she watched Clemont go out to check on Skitty. "Riolu's as strong as he is cute, isn't he?" Dawn and Serena both laughed at that as Shauna went over to join Clemont in ensuring the Kitten Pokemon was okay, while Riolu headed over to Ash and Hawlucha to celebrate his victory.

"You and Ash really have done a good job with Riolu," Dawn told Serena, watching the small fighting type a moment. "He was moving a lot like a Performer in that battle, but he's definitely strong enough to work well with Ash in battle. Not quite like Tierno, but it is a bit like a dance."

She realized that probably wasn't the best word for it a moment later, the word _dance_ making Serena bite her lip a little as she looked over to Ash. Dawn glanced down at Piplup as they stood in silence a moment, before deciding it was time to get back to her own training, looking back to Serena, who seemed to have stopped her wondering.

"Do you want to do some training together?" Dawn asked, thinking of a combination she'd been working on with Piplup that might work well in a battle against Serena's Sylveon.

"Ash and I need to go to our meeting with Hala," Serena answered, looking back over to the raven-haired trainer, who seemed to actually be getting a reminder about that from Pikachu, who was pointing over to Serena. "Maybe later?"

"Sure," Dawn said, smiling mischievously as she exchanged a look with Shauna. "And on your way to Hala, maybe Ash will have something to say."

* * *

"I can't wait to go to Coumarine this weekend!" Ash exclaimed, looking excitedly at Serena, who looked back, feeling her heart race a little. "We've been training a lot, and I bet all of us are going to do well in our IPL matches. There's no way we're going to lose this time!"

Serena nodded, sighing as she glanced down at the sidewalk they were walking on. She knew she probably shouldn't have expected Ash to say anything else, but she couldn't help but keep wondering. Shauna and Dawn had gotten it into her head now, and she just wished Ash would do something. She knew it wasn't exactly fair of her, knowing it was possible he didn't feel anything similar, or simply didn't care about the dance itself, but she wanted him to give her some kind of sign.

"I wonder what Hala's going to talk to us about," he then said, looking thoughtful as they turned a corner. "If he's got any information that could help with training Greninja, that would be pretty awesome. Maybe that, what was it called...Z-Move, will be something I can learn."

Serena had wondered about that as well, at least when it came to Ash and Greninja. Hala and his Crabominable had seemed to move in sync while performing that special attack, so perhaps the energy involved had something to do with how Ash and Greninja could sync up. It was likely more complicated than that, but she couldn't see any other reason for why Hala would be able to help Ash learn more about Greninja.

His reasons for meeting with her, however, didn't seem nearly as apparent. He had seemed interested in Absol, but he hadn't exactly been a member of Serena's team for too long. She couldn't think of what Hala would want from her when it came to that. She supposed it was possible he knew some way of helping her to continue raising the Disaster Pokemon, considering Hala was clearly quite knowledgeable when it came to Pokemon. But...so was Professor Sycamore. Hala might know a lot, and his knowledge might be different, but Serena doubted he could provide her with anything different when it came to raising her Pokemon. At least in regards to Absol's situation.

When the two of them arrived at Sycamore's lab, where they would be meeting Hala, Ash took the lead as they walked up to the front door. They waited a few seconds after knocking, before Sycamore appeared, smiling at the sight of them. "Ash! Serena! Hala's just having a look at some of my Mega Evolution research. Come on in."

They followed the Professor in, Serena shivering a bit as a cold wind swept over them before they closed the door. Sycamore then led them to a room near the back, where Serena spotted Hala looking over a book, while Sycamore's assistant, who she remembered was named Sophie, was noting something down next to Sycamore's Garchomp. There also appeared to be a Key Stone on a table next to Garchomp, with what Serena assumed was the matching Mega Stone for the dragon type next to it.

When they entered the room, Hala looked up, smiling upon seeing them. "Ash and Serena, good to see you. Training going well?"

"Yeah!" Ash answered enthusiastically. "We've been getting Riolu ready for his Performance in our exam for Reggie's Breeding class."

"Ash's Hawlucha has been helping out as well," Serena added, smiling at the excited look in Ash's eyes, glad to see him so interested in the performing. "They've made a really good team so far."

Hala looked pleased to hear it, looking between the two trainers, before resting his eyes on Ash. "Hawlucha looked like quite a fierce fighter when I saw him the other day. What made you use him for a Performance?"

"We thought it would be a good way for Riolu to keep up, and since he likes Hawlucha so much, they could figure things out together," Ash said, before grinning towards Serena. "And Serena's an awesome teacher. We've _all_ been learning a lot from her."

"Hmm, I'm not surprised," Hala said, rubbing his moustache and getting up, while Sycamore seemed to be head over to Sophie, looking over her notes rather than participate in their conversation. "You two both seem to connect to Pokemon quite well. Of course...that's part of why I asked to meet with you. Would you mind if we talked first, Serena?"

"Me? Um...sure," Serena answered, glancing over at Ash, who seemed just as surprised as her that they were apparently meeting separately with the Alolan. She didn't have much time to think about it, though, as Sycamore offered to show Ash some of the work they were doing, while Hala led her to another room, which looked to be some kind of office that Sycamore had. She noticed a few pictures and sketches of Greninja on the desk as she sat down, Hala seating himself opposite her.

"So, how's Absol doing?" Hala asked, leaning forward on the desk, fiddling with the strange bracelet on his wrist. Serena remembered it as the one that had been glowing while he'd performed that Z-Move with his Crabominable.

"I've been working with him every day," Serena told the man, smiling as she thought of some of the simple routines she'd been trying to do with Absol. He'd been growing more confident, that was for sure, especially after his strong performance in the tournament. However, he still needed some more training before entering an official competition against more experienced Pokemon. "I think performing is a good way for him to move forward after...all he's been through."

Hala nodded, looking down sadly at the mention of Absol's past. "Professor Sycamore told me about how Absol came to be your Pokemon when I first arrived. As you know, I came here to discuss the bond between Ash and Greninja, but I was very much interested in learning about some of the other students here. We're always looking for fine young trainers to visit us in Alola. Sycamore mentioned you and the other members of your group of friends when we were talking, and what he told me about Absol was very..."

"Disturbing?" Serena finished for him, clenching her fists as she thought of the condition Absol had been in, and the hunter who had been chasing him.

"In the case of the hunter, yes," Hala agreed, sitting back now, looking uncomfortable in the seat that was clearly too small for him. "However, hearing what you did for Absol was very inspiring. And of course, seeing you battle together at the tournament was even more impressive, given what I'd heard. I might've mistaken you for a Nurse Joy if you had pink hair and a nurse's outfit for the progress you made with a Pokemon in such a condition."

They both laughed at that, before Serena spoke up again. "Nurse Joy did do most of the work. I just tried to make Absol more comfortable around people. I wanted him to have a home after all he'd been through."

Hala chuckled a little at that, shifting in his seat once more. "No doubt Nurse Joy, and even your other friends, helped, but it is quite clear that Absol understands what you did for him. I doubt he had much faith, if any, in humans after what he likely went through. You brought him back from a dark place, both physically and mentally."

"That's what I want to do," Serena said honestly, smiling at the thought. "As a Performer, making people and Pokemon smile, and bringing them together...it's more important to me than winning any competition. I still want to win of course, but the closer I get to becoming Kalos Queen, the more I can do to make people and Pokemon happier."

"Being more well known to the public would definitely help," Hala acknowledged, nodding at her words. "Have you ever heard of the Aether Foundation?" he asked suddenly, again fiddling with the strange bracelet. "An organization in the Alola region," he clarified, as Serena stared blankly.

"No, I haven't" she answered truthfully, unsure or what this organization could have to do with anything they were discussing. "Do they do performances or something?"

Hala shook his head, but he smiled at the question, almost as though expecting it. "They're a foundation that does a lot of work with stray or abused Pokemon. There's a group, well, a gang I suppose, called Team Skull, that causes some problems for us in Alola. The Aether Foundation protects many of the victims, of Team Skull's abuse."

Serena's eyes lit up at that, thinking this Aether Foundation sounded like a wonderful organization. "That sounds amazing! I'm sorry that there are people hurting Pokemon there as well, but it's wonderful to have a group protecting the Pokemon."

Hala nodded, looking pleased by Serena's answer. "They might be interested in some help from someone like you. I'm not that informed on some of their activities, but considering their work, a person so capable of helping hurt and abandoned Pokemon would likely be someone they would like to help them."

Serena was silent a moment, a little taken aback by the sudden suggestion. She could admit, it sounded like a nice place, but she didn't know what she'd be signing up for. "Wh-what do you mean?" she asked nervously.

Hala paused a moment, apparently trying to find the right words to explain, before finally speaking. "Recently, the Aether Foundation has been working with some of the Kahunas in Alola to expand some of their work. The trial system, which is somewhat of our version of a gym quest, doesn't meet all their needs. The President hopes to promote some of their good deeds through something like..."

"Performing?" Serena asked, unable to hide her interest. It did sound like an intriguing opportunity.

"There are schools in Alola," Hala said, nodding in answer to Serena's question. "Melemele University is a wonderful school. I do some teaching there myself, along with Professor Kukui and a few others. My grandson just started there, actually. A small performing program has just begun, but next school year, we've arranged for a couple of high profile teachers to join the staff. So...if a transfer student were to join..."

It was an awkward silence for about a minute after that. Serena stared at her feet the whole time, unsure of what to say. It did sound like a great place, and she was sure it would be a good opportunity, but...there was Ash, there was Shauna, there was Dawn, Clemont...all of them. She couldn't leave them, could she? Not after just starting this new journey with them. She'd joined this school with Shauna in the first place, so she couldn't just leave her. And if anything did ever happen with Ash...

"I don't need an answer now," Hala finally said, standing up. "Take your time and think about it. It's simply an offer for a new opportunity. You could help more Pokemon, and learn more about performing, reach more people and Pokemon...but you also have many opportunities here, so there's no pressure."

Serena nodded, standing up as well as she turned towards the door. She said a quick goodbye to Hala before stepping out of the office, the Kahuna asking her to send Ash in after her. She wasn't really thinking as she made her way back out to the room where Ash, Sycamore and Sophie were in, the three of them looking closely at a computer while Garchomp seemed to be displaying an attack. She definitely had a lot to think about, even though Hala had said there was no pressure.

"Oh hey Serena," Ash said, looking up as he noticed her. "How'd it go?" he asked, looking a little concerned upon seeing her face.

She managed a smile and gave him a thumbs up, not wanting him to think anything was wrong. "It was fine. Hala just wanted to talk about Absol. He wants to talk to you next."

"Awesome," Ash said, smiling as he gave a quick wave to Sycamore. "Okay then, see you in a bit. Don't leave without me, okay?"

It was a bit of a strange request, but Serena nodded, sitting down as Ash headed to the small office. Sycamore and Sophie seemed almost entranced by whatever work they were doing, so Serena stayed fairly quiet as she waited. She was actually getting a bit sleepy until there was a knock at the door and Sycamore went to answer.

She wasn't really paying attention, until suddenly hearing a familiar voice entering the room, and she looked up to see Tierno. He seemed to be handing Sycamore a paper, which she heard the professor say was some kind of report for a class. It was a moment later that Tierno noticed her there.

"Serena!" he said, going up to her as Sycamore thanked him for the report, before heading back to his work. "You and Ash are meeting with that Hala guy, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she answered, sitting up a bit and glancing in the direction where Ash and Hala were currently talking in the office. "Ash is with Hala now. I met with him before."

"Anything interesting?"

She didn't feel like getting into that at the moment, so she just shrugged. "He was just curious about Absol, that's all."

"Oh, that's cool." Tierno seemed oddly excited for some reason, but Serena's mind was a bit too foggy with all her thoughts on what Hala had asked her, so she mostly ignored it. "So, excited for the trip to Coumarine this weekend?"

"Yeah, it should be fun. Hopefully we can get our team back on track," Serena said, knowing that their chances for winning the IPL would be slim if they couldn't get some wins in their upcoming match.

"Oh yeah, that'll be no problem," Tierno told her confidently, tapping his foot as though already prepared to dance and battle. "The dance should be even more fun, though."

Serena again glanced in the direction of the office, thinking about Ash and wishing he would say something. She supposed she would just have to wait until the weekend and see if anything came of it. "It should be pretty fun, yeah," she said quietly, somewhat distracted.

"We should go together!"

"Yeah...we should," she whispered, slowly turning her attention back to Tierno. _Wait...what?_

"Really?!" Tierno asked excitedly. "That's awesome, Serena! Don't worry, I'll show you all the cool dance moves I know."

"Um..."

He then looked at the clock that hung up over one of Sycamore's book shelves. "Sorry, I have to go do some training with Trevor, but I'll see you later. Thanks!"

Serena couldn't find any words as she watched Tierno march out the door, feeling her head start to spin. Had she just done what she'd though she'd done? She took a deep breath, glancing over at Professor Sycamore, seeing him and Sophie still hard at work. Then she glanced back in the direction of the office where Ash and Hala were, instantly feeling regret. Tierno was nice, of course, but...she hadn't meant to say yes. Although it would've been mean to say no, wouldn't it?

 _But...Ash..._

* * *

Making his way over to the small office where Hala was, Ash took one last glance back at Serena, frowning as he noticed her looking like she was thinking over something. He supposed whatever Hala had said must've been pretty important, as she looked to be somewhat overwhelmed by it. Ash wasn't too worried about her, though, knowing she'd be able to figure it out, whatever it was. Besides, he was hoping to talk to her about it all once he was done with his own meeting, if she was willing.

Not to mention, he was hoping to ask her about something else. He wasn't exactly sure what the purpose or meaning to going to the dance with someone was, only that it seemed kind of uncomfortable and strange. However, he did know that if he could enjoy it with anyone, it would be Serena. He couldn't help but smile at the thought, before Pikachu nudged him and he stepped into the room, noticing the man sitting at the desk.

When Ash sat down across from Hala, his eyes immediately fell upon the strange bracelet around the man's wrist. He remembered how it had glowed so brightly as Hala had performed that powerful attack. It had seemed to boost Crabominable's power exponentially. It had almost seemed like Mega Evolution in a way, now that he thought more about it. Of course, he wouldn't be surprised if it had some of the same powers, much like his bond with Greninja.

"Well Ash, it looks like you and your Pikachu are doing well," Hala finally said, smiling as he looked at the electric mouse. "Ready for that...IPL match, correct?"

"Yeah!" Ash said excitedly, hands shaking with excitement as he thought about his next battle. He really wanted to get back into it, and he couldn't wait to get a win streak going. "We really need to win our next match, so we've been training really hard."

Hala nodded, looking interested. "Professor Sycamore has told me about some of the struggles you've all had. However, if what I saw at the tournament is any indication, you're all quite resilient, so I'm sure that you'll be able get things back on track."

"I hope so," Ash said, knowing he needed to be better after his first two IPL battles, even if he'd been close against Anton. He needed to be strong for his Pokemon, and he couldn't let himself get distracted. He knew he felt much better, though, his friends and Pokemon having helped him get back on track.

"Which Pokemon do you plan to use?" Hala asked, raising an eyebrow in interest. "If you've decided that is."

Ash could feel Pikachu tensing up excitedly on his shoulder, the electric mouse obviously hoping to get his chance again, but Ash knew what Hala was getting at, and if he could work on anything new with Greninja, he knew a battle was a good place to start. "I'll be going with Greninja."

Hala smiled at that, fiddling with his strange bracelet. "Your first battle in the IPL was with Greninja, correct? Against a trainer with a...Mega Scizor?"

Ash nodded, looking up at Pikachu, the two of them remembering the battle clearly. It hadn't actually been that bad of a battle, but it had been a crushing way to lose. "Anton is a pretty tough trainer, and that Scizor was really fast. Greninja was keeping up fine, but I lost my focus for some reason...I couldn't keep up when we were about to win."

Hala looked interested at that, rubbing his chin as he looked up in thought. "You fainted?" Ash nodded, taking a deep breath, trying not to let his frustration return. He would do better this time. He was already starting to do better. "According to Professor Sycamore, you and Greninja need an extraordinary amount of trust in one another in order to achieve this."

"Yeah," Ash said slowly, thinking carefully about it. "I don't think I've ever lost faith in Greninja, though, and he trusts me. It seems like whenever we struggle, it's my fault, though. Back in Snowbelle City, when I lost a gym battle, I was so worried about my friend Sawyer getting ahead of me, and I wasn't able to think straight. Greninja and I worked together to overcome that, but when we lost to Alain in the Kalos League, it seemed like such a huge step back."

Hala nodded, almost as though he'd heard something like this before. "It's a common problem in unlocking the true power behind a Pokemon and their trainer. You remember the Z-Move I used against that...Team Rocket?" Ash nodded, sitting up in interest to hear what Hala had to say. "Z-Moves require something similar. A very special bond between a Pokemon and their trainer. They need to have a strong purpose, something to work towards together. They need to trust in themselves and one another. If anything is lacking, the Z-Move will fail."

"So it's something like Mega Evolution?" Ash asked, curious to know more about these Z-Moves.

Hala paused a moment, not seeming quite sure how to answer that. Finally, he attempted an answer. "In many ways, yes. Z-Moves require a strong bond. However, from what I know of Mega Evolution, it does not require quite the same focus, which is natural, given that the increase in power is extended throughout the battle. With a Z-Move, the Pokemon focuses an extraordinary amount of power for just one attack. It will exhaust both the trainer and the Pokemon so much that if they attempted another one too soon, they could hurt themselves quite severely."

Ash's eyes widened at that, and he exchanged another look with Pikachu at that, his longtime partner looking both awed and fearful at the mention of such power. "So...Z-Moves are more powerful than Mega Evolution?" he asked, looking back at Hala.

Hala shook his head. "I wouldn't say that. They're different versions of the same thing in some sense. Z-Moves focus all of that energy into one ultimate attack, borrowing some part of the trainer's strength to do so. However, with Mega Evolution, the power is sustained throughout the battle, brought out by the trainer, but ultimately on the Pokemon's inner strength. You could likely have ten battles pitting mega Pokemon against Z-Moves, and they would result in five wins for one and five for the other."

Ash couldn't help but imagine himself performing one of these Z-Moves at the mention of that. They sounded somewhat dangerous, but he had done something similar in fighting with Greninja. His eyes widened at that thought. _So it is similar to the Bond Phenomenon._ "You think Greninja's special form...the Bond Phenomenon, works like a Z-Move?"

"It's a possibility," Hala said, shrugging. "I don't know enough about Mega Evolution, the Bond Phenomenon, or even everything I'd like to about Z-Moves, to be sure. My theory, however, from what I've learned so far, is that you and Greninja have yet to tap into your true strength."

"You mean we could be even stronger?" Ash asked, surprised at the possibility that Greninja's form could somehow surpass what it had already been able to accomplish. As frustrating as his defeats were, he'd lost to some incredible Pokemon and trainers. If he was truly able to exceed the power he'd already accomplished...

"It's only a theory," Hala repeated, seeing the shock in Ash's eyes. "And one based on very little information. However, we could test it a little more."

Ash's eyes lit up at that, already reaching for Greninja's pokeball. "You mean you want to have a battle?"

Hala chuckled at that, holding a hand up for Ash to wait. "Not quite yet, I'm afraid." He was silent a moment, thinking carefully before continuing. "I've asked Professor Sycamore if you could visit me in the Alola region. It would be during your Winter break, but it would also go into the next semester, so you would miss some classes. However, we would be able to do some tests and try to figure a little more of this out."

Ash wasn't too sure about it, knowing it might not be best to miss classes. However, if Professor Sycamore thought it was important, he wouldn't have discussed it with Hala. And Ash did like the idea of seeing this new region.

"As I told Serena with what we were discussing, think about it. Focus on your IPL battle and your exams, and then get in touch with me." Hala then stood up, Ash following suit, realizing the meeting was ending. "Take your time. And good luck with your battles."

Ash nodded, thanking the man and saying a quick goodbye before making his way out of the office. He was pretty excited as he thought about the possibility of going to Alola, but he knew Hala was right. He needed to focus on what was in front of him first, and then he could come up with his next plan. And, as he noticed Serena sitting in the room with Sycamore and Sophie still working away with Garchomp, Ash remembered one of the things he had planned to do right away.

"Hey Serena!"

"Oh...Ash, hi. How'd it go?" she asked, standing up as he approached.

"Good, I think Hala's got some good ideas about what to do with Greninja and how I can learn more," Ash said, Pikachu nodding in agreement.

Before Serena answered, Sycamore noticed that Ash had finished, coming over to say goodbye. He seemed like he was fairly busy with his work with Garchomp and Sophie, so he told them he'd talk to Hala about anything he may need from them, before Ash and Serena set off out of the lab. When they were outside, Serena spoke. "So, did he have anything he wanted you to do?"

"He said not to worry about it until after the IPL match and our exams. Wants me to focus on what's ahead I guess." Ash then took a deep breath, knowing what one of those things ahead of him were. "That reminds me...about the dance this weekend..."

* * *

In the forest just outside Laverre City, Anton was able to truly be himself. He could train with his Pokemon, get away from people, and enjoy the nature. He enjoyed the quiet, rarely coming across anyone, and able to avoid his teammates...and sister, all of them often after him for some reason or another. The forest was _his_ place. It had always been his place. Ever since he was a little boy, learning all about the world of Pokemon from his father.

"Zor scizor," he looked up, raising his head from where it rested against the tree, seeing his Scizor staring at him curiously, pausing its sparring match with Hitmonlee. "Scizor?"

Anton probably wouldn't have cared if any of his other Pokemon had questioned him like this, preferring a relationship of respect rather than...whatever this was. Of course, Scizor was unique, and he gave the bug and steel type a rare smile. "Just tired, Scizor. Keep training."

The Pincer Pokemon clearly knew something was up, but turned back to Hitmonlee, knowing his trainer too well to pursue it. It was something Anton could appreciate about his Pokemon. While they seemed hardened and reserved to other trainers, he knew they were simply aware of what was expected of them. They let him deal with his own problems or concerns. Scizor was the only one he was willing to allow to push the boundaries of that.

Anton had never liked his Pokemon trying to "comfort" him. It made him feel weak, as though he couldn't rely on himself. He was supposed to be the trainer, the leader of their team, so when they felt the need to console him, it was a failure on his part. Of course, he knew other trainers didn't see it that way, letting their Pokemon essentially control their actions. As far as Anton was concerned, that was what brought them all down. Something they learned from gym leaders on their useless badge quests.

 _You lack trust in your Pokemon._

His fists clenched, and he watched as Scizor and Hitmonlee continued their sparring. A Bullet Punch clashed with Blaze Kick, Scizor overpowering the fire attack despite the type disadvantage. Anton smiled at that, knowing type matchups never meant anything with Scizor. Of course...he did expect better from Hitmonlee.

"Focus more, Hitmonlee," he told the fighting type. "Aim carefully, and focus everything you have into your kick. Use that focus to ignite the flame."

"Monlee!" Hitmonlee answered, nodding with a determined expression. "Hitmonleeee!" he shouted out, striking Scizor once more with a Blaze Kick, this time causing the Pincer Pokemon to stagger back, unable to fully deflect using his Fury Cutter.

Anton nodded as both Pokemon looked to him, signalling for them to continue. What did that old man know about Pokemon? His were stronger than ever. He didn't lack trust in them, and he didn't back then. They lacked preparation, and now they were never unprepared. They fought with a purpose. They would never be humiliated again.

 _I could've beaten you!_

He could've. Anton was sure of it. His Pokemon had been well trained. They'd won countless battles together. He'd learned everything there was to know about Pokemon. He had studied the man he was supposed to beat, watching another trainer pull off the win with their Talonflame. He was ready, his newly evolved Fletchinder, his Vivillon and his Scyther all knowing what needed to be done.

 _You don't have a direction._

He clenched his fists once again, barely even noticing now as Scizor and Hitmonlee exchanged blows, the former using Fury Cutter as quick as he could to counter Close Combat. Anton hated that memory with every fibre of his being. He'd been made to feel worthless, when he knew he was worth far more than the man that had ridiculed him. He had been humiliated, despite being the superior trainer.

 _Gurkinn...I'll beat him this time._

The memory of the battle played over in his mind again. Anton could remember his excitement as he'd rushed to the gym, having witnessed another trainer's victory the day before. He had trained hard after that, his sister watching excitedly as he'd worked with his Fletchling, Vivillon and Sycther, ensuring they were all prepared to use their flying abilities to their advantage. He knew what he needed to do to win, and he wasn't going to take any chances.

Then, his Fletchling had evolved, and he'd grown even more confident, knowing its newly learned Flame Charge would come in handy against Gurkinn's Lucario, which was part steel type. He was more than ready for the challenge, knowing that if he could beat the man's granddaughter, who was training to become the eventual Shalour City Gym Leader, he could beat the real one after training as hard as he had been.

When the battle finally started, Gurkinn agreeing to the match as soon as Anton and his sister had arrived, it was apparent that his training had been successful to start. Scyther started the match, going up against Gurkinn's Mienshao, the Martial Arts Pokemon proving to be a speedy competitor, but ultimately unable to keep up with Sycther.

Scyther overwhelmed it with a combination of Agility and Fury Cutter, taking away one of Mienshao's best advantages and then keeping it at a distance so it was unable to fight in close. Gurkinn had seemed impressed, complimenting Anton's strategy, but telling him he wasn't going to win if he continued fighting the way he was.

Anton had ignored that, thinking it was just some kind of test of his resolve, but when Gurkinn had called out his next Pokemon, a Machoke, Sycther was overwhelmed fairly quickly, Gurkinn adjusting to his strategy and managing to force Anton to use Scyther in close for too long, making it vulnerable to brute force attacks.

He'd used his right to switch Pokemon after that, realizing he needed control the battle from the air better, so he called out his Vivillon. Again, he started off strong, Vivillon even slowing Machoke down with a Stun Spore and hitting it with a Silver Wind attack. However, Gurkinn proved too clever once again, Anton falling into a trap with his overconfidence. Vivillon was knocked out quickly once it had gone in to finish the match, falling to Machoke and putting Anton behind.

It had been the first time he'd shown frustration in a match, yelling out at Vivillon for not being more careful. He hadn't even been sure back then, or even now, if he was really mad at his bug type, or if it was because of simple frustration. What he did know, and knew till this day, was that Gurkinn was toying with him. This Gym Leader, responsible for battling trainers and helping them grow, was simply making a mockery of their battle. He was mocking Anton.

 _You fight as though you are scared to lose. You, personally, don't want to lose. You're Pokemon see this. They fight for you, desperate to keep your dream alive, but you don't know what you, or they are fighting for._ Those words. They ate away at him as he had called his Fletchinder out, ordering a Flame Charge immediately, which was countered lazily by the slowed down Machoke, who didn't seem to be worried despite its paralysis.

 _I want to win. I want to be the best trainer in the world._ Anton knew that was true. He'd seen the videos of the famous battles, exhilarated by the challenge. He wanted to beat them all. He wanted to beat the gym leaders, Elite Four, the Champion. He wanted to be the best.

 _What does that get you?_

He continued to fight, his Fletchinder eventually tiring out, despite Machoke having now fought against all three of Anton's Pokemon. It wasn't fair. He had no idea why he wasn't able to beat it. It seemed to get harder and harder to focus as the match went on. His attacks were missing, or when they landed due to Machoke's paralysis, they had little effect.

Finally, Fletchinder fell, leaving Anton with only his Scyther. He remembered how his hands had shaken as he'd called out his exhausted bug type. Even though Machoke had looked tired, Sycther had fought earlier in the match, and had already been victim to Machoke's superior strength. He had to hope, though, knowing that it was his only chance.

 _Scared to lose._

Scyther fell within a single move, trying to end the battle quickly with a Fury Cutter. When he'd been struck by Machoke's Cross Chop, Scyther crumpled immediately. Anton dropped to the ground at the same moment, legs feeling weak as he watched his Pokemon fall. Again, his hands shook as he reached for his pokeball, recalling Scyther as Gurkinn walked towards him.

He didn't give the man a chance to taunt him, turning around and getting out of the gym as quickly as possible. His sister was after him soon enough, calling out for him, sounding worried. A moment later, the girl who he'd met at the Battle Chateau, Korrina, was calling for him as well,having watched the match from the sidelines. The Gym Leader didn't say anything, though. Anton didn't care about any of it, running as fast as he could, leaving them all behind, running over the sandy path that led back to the shore.

He didn't head to the Pokemon Centre right away. Whether it was from his anger or just forgetfulness, he didn't know. Even to this day, he wasn't sure. Perhaps a cool head would've prevented what happened after. He often wondered what would've happened had he just gone to the Pokemon Centre and let his head clear up.

It wasn't his fault, though, and he'd been humiliated. He couldn't think straight after Gurkinn had mocked him and ridiculed his goals. He ran and he ran, eventually reaching the forest, not caring about the direction he was heading. And when he finally stopped, he wasn't too sure where he was. He didn't care, though, calling out the Pokemon he'd used in the battle, seeing how exhausted they were, but wanting to see them. He wanted to know if any of it was true.

He'd asked them if they cared about him. He'd asked them if they fought for him. They responded with...love, he supposed. They'd gone to him and comforted him. Scyther had been more careful, though, only giving a simple confirmation of his faith in his trainer. Fletchinder and Vivillon, however, were much too direct for him, at least with the mindset he was in.

The two flying types tried to urge him to cheer up, clearly exhausted, but making _him_ their priority. He'd pushed them away after that. He shouted at them, cursed them for lying to him. Scyther stood to the side, watching silently as his fellow Pokemon continued to try to console Anton.

He wasn't thinking straight. He knew that now, and he knew it not long after he'd done it. But...Gurkinn had messed with his head. It was what they did. They made a mockery of trainers, and they did it just because they could. He crushed Vivillon's pokeball first, the bug type dropping to the ground upon seeing his trainer do so, whether from exhaustion or shock, Anton couldn't know. He didn't even look as he crushed Fletchinder's next.

He ran after that, not wanting to see them again. He heard Scyther behind him, but didn't look, not caring what his partner Pokemon did at the moment. Eventually, he reached the city again. He had no idea how long he'd taken, but he found it nonetheless. He wiped at his eyes as he looked towards the buildings ahead of him, realizing they were stinging. He already regretted what he'd done, looking back at the forest, seeing Scyther emerge.

A voice had then called out to him, and he had seen his sister approaching, looking relieved to see him. It took awhile for her to get Anton to speak, but eventually he had revealed what he had done, shocking her. She had known better than to scold him, though, seeing that he clearly regretted it. And then, before Anton could stop her, his sister was running into the forest.

He tried to follow her, Scyther at his side, but both were too tired, and they lost her quickly, falling to the ground a short distance into the forest. They waited for...a long time. He still couldn't remember, the only thoughts he'd had at the time being how much he had regretted his actions. He would only regret them even more when he saw his sister returning, something in her arms.

She'd found a Swablu, the poor Cotton Bird Pokemon looking beaten and bruised. Anton had never seen a Pokemon in worse shape. No Pokemon would have done that. At least...not on its own. Someone would've commanded it to do so. He'd instantly become worried. Had he left his Pokemon near whatever could've done this?

 _I couln't find them._

Those words would stick with him forever. And the red feather, clearly from Fletchinder, that Gabby had held out, would haunt his dreams forever.

None of it would have happened, though. Gurkinn was to blame. The gym leaders, the Pokemon League...all of them.

 _They_ had lost his Pokemon.

 **Author's Note:**

And there we have it, a much needed addition to the backstory of Anton. Hopefully you enjoyed that...or I guess...didn't enjoy it, but in the right way? I thought it would be interesting...and it obviously connects to some other things going on in the story.

As for Hala, Serena and Ash, that was a lot, but essentially it was originally the setup for a potential sequel. I'm not too sure about that at this point, but some things have been shifted. Essentially, Serena is being offered a spot at a different school, while also being offered a chance to expand on what she's done with Absol. I actually didn't know much about Aether when starting the outline, but it fit the original idea really well. And as for Ash he's being offered a special bit of training. More on that will come. Hopefully my extended Ash-Greninja and Z-Move stuff is working, though.

And of course...Tierno and Serena. I know...I know...but it really isn't a you know what triangle. Serena basically is too nice to say no after realizing she'd accidentally said yes. I think it'll be somewhat humorous actually. I guess we'll see.

See you next time.

P.S. My Bonnie adventure story is 4 chapters in, along with a prologue. Just saying...


	39. The Luxray Storm

**Author's Note:**

Finally back with chapter 39. The third match of the IPL is here, and our heroes are in Coumarine City, where they'll compete for their first wins and then get some downtime for the dance coming up afterwards. Hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter 39: The Luxray Storm**

Coumarine City. It was just like Ash remembered, the monorail visible from the window of the bus as they entered the city. He patted his backpack, the box with the ribbon in there, the memory of winning it here in this city the last time he'd been there. It wasn't much, but it was a fond memory. If only he'd managed to have caught that Dunsparce, it would've been a perfect visit, with a gym badge won, and a happy celebration with his Pokemon at the Pledging Tree.

"Can we ride the train, Clemont?" Bonnie was asking near the front of the bus, her eyes wide as she looked out the window.

"Hmm?" the inventor mumbled out, apparently still sleeping. Ash couldn't blame him, as they'd woken in the early hours of the morning to board the bus, rather than leaving the night before. With all the preparations for the dance going on, they'd decided to let their hosts have the extra time to get ready, rather than showing up early.

"I want to go as well," Marie said, looking excitedly to Bonnie. "Maybe we can go when the battles are all done. They're all going today, so we should be able to party tonight!"

"Yeah! Is that okay, Clemont?" Bonnie pleaded, poking her brother in the seat behind her.

"Mhm...battle tonight...party on the train..."

"That sounds like a yes!" Bonnie cheered, looking to Professor Sycamore, who chuckled at the sight of the siblings. "Can we go, Professor Sycamore?"

"It might be fun," the Professor said, looking over to Agatha, Flint and Fantina. "As long as the team works hard, I think a little celebration will be fine."

"Do we get a pass on Monday morning's classes?" Tierno asked, glancing at the rest of the group, as though silently encouraging them to voice their agreement, which a few of them did.

"As long as you check with your teachers about any homework," Sycamore answered, getting a cheer out of the group, which was followed by another groan from Clemont as he finally woke up.

Tierno looked pretty pleased at that, turning to look at Serena in the seat next to him, the Performer giving him an awkward smile, before looking back out the window. Ash felt a little embarrassed as he looked, turning to look out his window as well. He still felt the tension of the awkward moment when he'd asked Serena to the dance. It was almost as bad as when he'd only brought Palpitoad to his Nimbasa City gym match!

"What's with you?" He looked back, noticing Dawn watching him from the seat behind him, her eyes going to where Tierno and Serena sat. "Daydreaming about something? Or...some _one_?" She smirked at that, but she didn't actually seem to be taunting Ash, giving him a bit of a sympathetic look. "No need to worry, Ash. Tierno and Serena are...well, I'm not sure. But it's not what you think."

Ash wasn't too sure what she meant, but he knew he felt awkward talking about this, checking to make sure the others weren't listening before answering. "What do you mean?"

Dawn sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. "No wonder Shauna felt the need to get involved before." She gestured back to Serena and Tierno, the former shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "Serena was too nice to say no. And Tierno...he likes _a lot_ of girls. I think he was going to ask Shauna or me to the dance if _you_ had asked Serena sooner."

"I still don't get what you're saying," Ash muttered, even though he felt he sort of did. He was thinking and feeling things he'd never thought of throughout his life. It was confusing, but it was a little clearer than this kind of thing used to be to him.

Dawn rolled her eyes, looking back at Ash. "Just think of it like this. If Hawlucha challenged Piplup to a battle, even if Pikachu was about to do it, Piplup would accept Hawlucha's challenge, but he would still want to battle Pikachu. And Hawlucha wouldn't care in the end, when Piplup battled Pikachu, because he's happy to battle anyone...roughly speaking."

"Pika?" Ash glanced at his longtime partner, realizing _he_ was Pikachu in this scenario. He couldn't help but appreciate the battle comparison.

"Well...since it doesn't matter right now, do you want to go together?" Ash suddenly asked, scratching the back of his neck nervously as Dawn's eyes widened in shock. "I mean...you know...not like...um...I don't know."

"As friends...?" Dawn asked, looking just as uncomfortable as Ash felt. He wasn't exactly sure how to answer, as he assumed that anyone going to a dance together would be friends, but he just nodded, guessing it was the right thing to do. "Sure...I guess that would be fine."

Ash didn't really know what to expect out of this dance, but he supposed since he _was_ a "captain" on his team, he needed to go with someone, if it was the expectation. And, if it wasn't going to be Serena, Dawn was a good friend, so he knew they could find a way to enjoy it. At least, it would be less uncomfortable with her than maybe Shauna or Marie, who were his friends, but just knew him less than Dawn or Serena did.

With that awkwardness out of the way, it was a fairly relaxing end of the bus ride as they made their way into the city, eventually arriving in front of the Pokemon Centre. Much like when Laverre had arrived in Lumiose City for the first match of the IPL, and Ash and the others had waited to greet them, Coumarine College's teams seemed to have formed a welcoming party, as Ash could see a group gathered out front. He was definitely excited to meet them, hoping they would be more like Shalour's team than Laverre's. He respected how strong Laverre's team was, but they didn't have nearly as much fun as they needed to. Especially Anton.

"All right, everyone, looks like we're all set to meet up with Coumarine College," Sycamore said as the bus fully stopped, standing up so everyone could see him. "Ash and Dawn, you'll lead the way so you can meet your fellow captains first. Make sure to represent Lumiose University with pride. We've struggled out of the gate, but we still have a chance. Ash, Trevor and Clemont will need to be careful of the Battle Team, as they're desperate for their first wins as well. And the Performance Team is _very_ talented. They managed to give Laverre a tough matchup in their second match. This will be an important weekend for all of you."

"No need to worry, Professor Sycamore!" Dawn called out confidently, as she and Ash made their way to the front of the bus, the others starting to get up behind them. "We're ready to get things back on track."

"Pipip luuup!" Piplup agreed excitedly, Pikachu's cheeks sparking as well as Ash looked to his longtime partner.

"Let's do this!" Ash said, finally walking forward, and stepping out of the bus.

He was quite surprised by the first person to greet him as he stepped out, a familiar face approaching him, while his friends emerged out of the bus behind him. "Hello there, Ash! Good to see ya," Ramos, the Coumarine Gym Leader said, the elderly man hunched over a little as he leaned on his obscenely large gardening scissors.

"Ramos!" Ash greeted him with a grin, shaking the man's hand. "You're teaching at Coumarine College?"

"Indeed," the grass type Gym Leader said, looking back at the curious students behind him. "I thought teaching these young'uns would be good for all of us. They've been working hard too, so you'll need to look out for 'em."

"We're ready, too!" Ash said confidently, looking back to his friends, who nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm not surprised about that, Ash!" He looked back, surprised to hear another familiar voice as a blonde girl stepped up next to Ramos. She was wearing her "Coumarine Gogoats" uniform, which was much like Lumiose's uniforms, but a mix of green, black and white. "Ready for another battle?"

"Astrid?!" Ash laughed, shaking her hand. He could still remember the fierce battle Hawlucha had fought with Astrid's Mega Absol at the Kalos League. He didn't know her too well, but it was definitely good to know Coumarine College would have a strong trainer like her. "It'd be awesome to battle aga-"

"Will you please take care of my brother?!" Astrid's looked down in surprise as Bonnie suddenly emerged in front of her, grabbing the older girl's hand and pointing back to a red-faced Clemont. "He's really smart, and-"

"Bonnie!" The inventor quickly used his Aipom Arm, pulling Bonnie away and storming off, complaining about how embarrassing she was. Ash just laughed it off as his friends came over to stand with him, while Sycamore and Ramos began to talk.

Ash looked over to Trevor, who seemed to be gripping his camera tightly as he watched Astrid, as two of the Coumarine students came over to stand with her, while another group of four moved to stand next to them. Ash assumed Astrid was with the Battle Team, which she confirmed a moment later, introducing those standing with her.

"This is the Coumarine College Battle Team," she said, pointing to a boy with short black hair, looking somewhat gruff, but smiling nonetheless. "That's Night. He's from Kanto as well, actually. Looks mean, especially in battle, but he's friendly." She then pointed to the other member of their team, a girl with purple hair in ponytails, looking at Ash with wide eyes, smiling shyly. "And this is Nina. She's actually mentioned that she's a fan of you, Ash, after how well you did in the Kalos League."

"Oh, haha," Ash chuckled, rubbing his neck nervously. "Well, thanks. I'm sure you guys are great trainers, too." He then gestured to Trevor, deciding it was his turn to introduce his team. "This is Trevor. You might remember him from the Kalos League as well." Luckily, Clemont seemed to be returning with Bonnie now, so Ash was able to introduce him as well. "And this is Clemont, the Lumiose City Gym Leader."

"The Gym Leader with the robot?" Astrid asked, Clemont nodding in answer. "That was actually a really tough battle," she admitted, looking impressed. "I heard you're even stronger. And that Mega Charizard looked pretty strong at the Kalos League," she added, looking to Trevor, who blushed at the praise.

"They're both strong," Ash assured her, holding a fist up, smiling confidently. "We might've struggled in our first two matches, but Clemont, Trevor and I are ready to win it all, here."

"Our Performance Team is ready as well!" Dawn spoke up, Serena, Shauna and Tierno murmuring their agreement. "I'm Dawn by the way," she added, shaking Astrid's hand, and then the hand of who must've been the Coumarine Performance Team's captain.

"Leeroy," the boy said, smiling at the Lumiose group. He was quite tall, with short black hair and even a beard! He looked back to where a Gardevoir was standing off to the side, observing their group quietly. "If you plan to win, it'll be tough to beat us." He then started making his own introductions, pointing to a girl with long, black hair, who looked a little intimidating. "That's Tifa. She's a Performer, but...she's a fighter when she wants to be." Next, he pointed to a girl with forest-green hair, who was holding a Chikorita in her arms. She seemed to be the opposite of Tifa, looking much more timid. "That's Vanessa. Ramos' favourite student, because she loves grass types. She's also a Performer." Then, he finally pointed to the last one, a boy with spiky black hair, a Jolteon at his side. "And this is Brian, a Coordinator, like me. His Jolteon is one of the fastest Pokemon you'll ever see."

"Yeah, I saw a video of them from a Johto Grand Festival when I was doing some research on these guys," Marie said, coming up to stand next to Ash, looking over at Brian, who blushed, shrugging as he looked at his Jolteon. "They won a battle just with their speed!"

"It'll be tough to beat Tierno's dancing," Dawn pointed out, starting her own introductions as she gestured to Tierno, who did a small demonstration. "And Serena," she added, pointing to the honey-blonde, "and Shauna," she finished, pointing to the final member of the team, "are two of the best performers in all of Kalos. Both made it to the semifinals of the Masterclass Showcase."

"Serena's actually got an Absol as well," Ash said, turning back to Astrid, her eyes lighting up in interest. "She nursed it back to health after it was hurt badly by a Pokemon hunter, but he's trying hard to become a Performer with her."

"That's awesome!" Astrid said excitedly, looking over at Serena. "I'd love to meet it later."

"Sure," Serena said, looking excited to meet another trainer who would know about training an Absol. Ash was sure she would be able to get some good advice. "I saw your battle with Ash at the Kalos League, and your Absol was really impressive!"

"Yes, I'm sure her Absol was impressive," a voice cut in. Ash turned, noticing Agatha, nudging Sycamore, who was still talking with Ramos, and a couple of other people who were probably the other Coumarine coaches. "You'll be able to see it soon enough, I'm sure. For now, though, we should be getting things set up for our matches. Isn't that right, Professor?"

"Yes, I suppose so. The dance pushes everything to today, so we should get our things ready. The arena is set up, right Ramos?" Sycamore asked the man, looking at his watch.

"All the preparations for the battles are ready. The Performance theatre will be available by the time the battles are finished, so there are no issues there." He then looked over to his students. "Let's give these young'uns some time to put their things away in their rooms. We can have a quick strategy session at the battlefield."

With that, the Coumarine students began following Ramos and their other coaches as they headed off towards a street corner, turning out of view a moment later. Ash watched them go, heart starting to race as he imagined the battles coming up. While it _was_ a tough spot for their team, being in a position where they _had_ to win, he almost felt better going into these battles. He _wanted_ the pressure. He _wanted_ to win when the odds were against them. And he felt that he and Greninja were on the verge of getting their true power back.

"Let's do this, guys!" he yelled, turning to his team. "Let's bring a Luxray Storm to Coumarine City!"

* * *

Anton had been looking forward to this match. As he watched his foolish teammate blow a point in the battle currently taking place on the battlefield, he surprisingly didn't care too much. Would he have liked their perfect record to keep going? Sure, but Dean would learn. That Diggersby of his was an embarrassment, losing to a Magnezone, but if Anton had anything to do with it, which he did, it would win handily the next time.

He wasn't watching the battle closely, though, mostly looking over to where _they_ stood on the sidelines. He knew they didn't remember him. He wasn't surprised by it, knowing the way these people treated their challengers, but he would teach them to respect him. He could see the girl, Korrina, cheering away with her teammates as they managed their pitiful victory. And behind her, her grandfather smiled, almost like he thought _he_ had contributed somehow.

"You don't need to glare at them for the _entire_ match, Anton," Gabby's voice suddenly snapped, causing Anton to turn to her, narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Just focus on the battle."

"It was their fault, Gabby. I won't forget it." He glared at her, daring her to say otherwise, but she didn't, staying quiet as she looked to the field, Dean's Diggersby finally falling to the ground.

"Diggersby is unable to battle! Magnezone and Sumato are the winners! Shalour College and Laverre University are now each at one point!" the referee called, Shalour's students cheering at their point that they clearly needed far more than Laverre.

"You're up, brother," Gabby muttered, sounding irritated with him, but also a little uncomfortable about what might happen here. She knew him pretty well, he was aware. He didn't care what she was worried about. He wanted to settle a score.

As he set out to his spot on the battlefield, he could feel her eyes on him. He didn't look back, though, waiting until he was in position, adjusting his sunglasses, before finally looking across at his opponent. While she didn't seem to recognize him from that day so long ago, Anton could tell that she was aware of who he was. She had a look in her eyes as though she knew this would be an important match. Of course, for Anton, it was important for a much different reason.

The referee stepped forward a moment later, raising his arms as he called out the rules. "This will be a one on one battle between Korrina, of Shalour College, and Anton, of Laverre University. When one Pokemon is declared unable to battle, the opposing Pokemon will be declared the winner, receiving one point for their trainer's school. Are both trainer's ready?" Both Anton and Korrina nodded, the crowd cheering as they sensed the importance of the match. "Let the battle begin!"

"Lucario, come on out!" Korrina shouted, throwing her pokeball forward, not wasting any time, ready to get going as soon as possible.

Anton was quick to call out his Pokemon as well. "Marowak, you're up!"

Both Pokemon emerged in a flash of light, Shalour's students cheering wildly as Korrina's ace Pokemon emerged, and Anton getting a lonely cheer from his sister. He preferred the relative silence for him, never liking it when people cheered for him. He could forgive it when Gabby did so, but he didn't battle for attention. Only people like Korrina seemed to do that.

"Lucario, Bone Rush!" Korrina suddenly shouted, truly starting the battle and forcing Anton to act. He was ready, though. He was always ready.

"Use Bone Rush as well!"

"Maro! Marowak!" His ground type was fast. Anton knew it would strike first before he'd even finished the order, and as he watched on, Marowak jumped up, swinging outward as he and Lucario met in the centre of the battlefield. Lucario's bone of light missed cleanly, Marowak easily spinning over it as he struck his opponent hard across the chest with his own bone.

"Ru!" the Aura Pokemon cried out, falling back hard, dust kicking up as he landed on his back. Anton wasn't going to let up, though. He wanted to win this convincingly. He wanted to show Korrina, and her grandfather, just how strong he was.

"Stomping Tantrum!" He punched the air, surprising himself a little with his emotion. He always wanted to win, but he could usually stay pretty reserved in his battles. This one was important, though. This one would send a message.

The Bone Keeper Pokemon flipped in midair before aiming down towards Lucario, the Aura Pokemon struggling to stand. Korrina cried out for him, but it was too late, Marowak's foot hitting the fighting type in the jaw and sending him falling hard to the ground once more. A moment later, it was a barrage of kicks and stomps, and even a few whacks with his bone as Marowak brutally attacked his opponent.

"Lucario!" Korrina shouted in a panic, even taking a step forward as though she might want to surrender.

It made Anton hesitate a moment as Marowak ended his assault, leaping back and waiting as it prepared for its next order. _I don't need to go that far,_ he told himself, seeing how battered and bruised Lucario was after only the two attacks. Of course, the second one had been particularly brutal, but Anton could see he had the clear edge. Marowak was second only to Scizor on his team, and it seemed even Lucario couldn't keep up. Anton was angry for what Korrina had done to him, but he wouldn't be cruel to her Pokemon.

"Give up," he told her, not exactly yelling, but making himself heard. "Lucario can't win this. I don't want to hurt it."

The crowd seemed to go deathly quiet at that, not a sound heard as they watched on, many of the Shalour students looking nervously towards Lucario, who somehow seemed to be rising to his feet. Anton glanced towards Gurkinn as well, but saw no reaction from the man, Korrina's grandfather simply watching her, waiting to see her response.

"Lucario..." Korrina called out, quiet, but heard on the now silent battlefield.

"Ru ru!" The fighting type barked out at her, turning to face her and holding up his arm. Anton could see the Lucarionite on the band, admittedly surprised that the fighting type seemed to be finding the energy to give one last push.

Korrina didn't seem so motivated, though, looking nervously up at Anton, before meeting her grandfather's eyes on the sidelines. Again, he gave no reaction, but Anton was sure there was some kind of answer there for whatever Korrina seemed to be asking. He found out a moment later, raising his eyebrows as Korrina looked ahead, narrowing her eyes as she looked to Lucario.

"We don't need it, Lucario. Let's work together, and we'll show them what we can do when it's just you and me, without any kind of power up!" The Aura Pokemon looked a little surprised, but as he turned to face in Anton's direction again, he seemed to be smiling. It didn't make much sense to Anton, but he supposed he and his Pokemon wouldn't have gone down so easily as well, so he had to respect it...a little. "Power-Up Punch!"

"Double Edge!"

And just like that, both Pokemon were running forward once more, Lucario somehow looking more energized than before, bringing his fist back as Marowak barrelled towards him with his head bowed low. Then, just as they were meeting in the centre of the field, Marowak leaped up, just as Lucario thrust his fist forward, Marowak's hard skull impacting with the glowing fist at full speed. However, neither Pokemon moved an inch, straining against one another with all their might.

"Quick, use Metal Sound!" Korrina ordered, Lucario, pulling back immediately, causing Marowak to stumble forward as the fighting type slammed his arms together, the piercing sound waves firing forth. Anton grimaced, watching as Marowak clutched his head, unable to fight through the Metal Sound attack. "Follow up with Aura Sphere!"

"Ru!" The Aura Pokemon was fighting with pure determination, desperate not to be beaten back like he was early on in the battle. Anton clenched his fists in frustration, unable to order a quick enough counterattack as Marowark was struck by the blue sphere that burst forth, sending the ground type flying back and skidding along the ground before he could right himself.

 _That's enough. They've had their fun,_ Anton thought to himself, eyes drifting over to Gurkinn, who seemed to be smiling. _Still trying to humiliate me._

"Lucario, let's keep this up!" Korrina called out excitedly, clearly thinking she had the edge now. "Bone Rush!"

"Bonemerang!"

"Wak!" It was a perfect throw, hard and accurate. Anton could see the shocked look on Lucario's face as it ran forward, forming the bone of light to prepare his strike on Marowak, only to see Marowak's bone sailing towards him, too fast for him to dodge. It nailed him in the middle of his head, sending him stumbling back, looking dizzy while Marowak broke into a run, catching his bone as it spun back to him, readying it for the next strike.

"Use your own Bone Rush!"

"No! Lucario!"

Korrina's cries couldn't stop it, though. She'd gotten overconfident, and she'd left Lucario open once more. Marowak leaped forward, spinning in midair before slamming down hard onto Lucario's chest as the Aura Pokemon attempted to stand, sending it back down hard into the ground. He tried to lift his head once more, but again, Marowak was quick and accurate in his strike, landing on the ground and bringing his bone back in another swing, striking Lucario under the jaw and propelling his entire body up into the air.

"Finish with Double Edge!" Anton ordered, Marowak tucking in his arms and kicking off the ground hard as Lucario descended back down, not moving. The Bone Keeper Pokemon's thick skull helmet drove right into Lucario's chest, making its eyes bulge before he collapsed completely, falling limply to the ground as Marowak flipped back.

"Lucario is unable to battle! Anton and Marowak are the winners, and have earned a point for Laverre University!" the referee declared, murmurs of disappointment coming from the Shalour crowd as Korrina ran towards Lucario.

"Lucario! Lucario, are you okay?!"

He didn't move as he watched her head out to the middle of the field. He supposed most trainers did that, a "congratulations" for a hard fought battle. He could admit that Korrina had surprised him, her Lucario definitely managing to put up a bit more of a fight than most could against his Marowak. Perhaps it might've done more had it been mega evolved. He and his team didn't participate in such things, though, always ready for the next challenge. For him, that challenge was sooner than anyone there thought it would be.

As he recalled Marowak into its pokeball, Anton could see Gurkinn heading out to check on Korrina and her Lucario, the fighting type managing to rise up. Anton was glad to see it wasn't too badly hurt, not interested in punishing the Pokemon for its trainer's actions in the past. Besides, it wasn't even Korrina he had a problem with overall, although she definitely represented the same issue he had with Gurkinn.

After Korrina had ensured that Lucario was going to be okay until she could get it to a Pokemon Centre, she recalled it into its pokeball, while Gurkinn stood, turning towards Anton. The crowd seemed to understand something was going on, many whispering as Gurkinn took a few steps forward. Anton stayed where he was, though, waiting to see if the man had any idea who he was. He'd battled in Shalour in the past, but this was the first time Anton had had the chance to properly meet Gurkinn face to face since setting the goal of revenge, the man more involved now that Korrina was here.

"You've won your match. If you don't wish to be a good sport and congratulate your opponent on a hard fought match, you may leave." Anton took a deep breath at that, fighting back an angry retort, making sure to keep his emotions in check. _He has no idea._

"I've got another match," he finally said, pulling a pokeball out and raising it up as he looked ahead to the surprised man. "And it's with you."

* * *

"Charizard, Fire Spin!"

"Absol, Dark Pulse!"

When Trevor had asked Ash to battle Astrid, he'd been a little disappointed, having been extremely excited about testing himself against the strong Mega Absol trainer. However, with the battle being waged in front of him, Ash couldn't have imagined it any other way, with his friend going head to head with Astrid with everything he had, his training with Flint on full display. Granted, Astrid didn't seem to be using Mega Evolution, but Trevor wasn't either, both clearly wanting to see just how they could fare without it.

The explosion of the colliding attacks rocked the battlefield, hitting the stands they were sitting in with a powerful gust of hot wind. Ash could hear Flint laughing about how strong Charizard's fire attacks had become, mentioning how Infernape had helped him to increase the heat when using them. It was definitely noticeable to Ash, and he could see Absol tiring quickly on the field ahead of them.

With Clemont having earned a tough victory over the girl named Nina earlier, his Bunnelby managing to avoid an Extreme Speed from her Arcanine with Dig and then hitting it with Mud Shot, their team was set to have a well deserved boost in the standings. All Ash would need to do was keep up the momentum, and as the Captain of the team, he knew he needed to get that final win. His team needed every point they could get. At this point, even one loss could put them in a rough situation, particularly with another set of battles against Laverre to finish up their matches before a potential run in the playoffs.

"Charizard, finish this off with Dragon Claw!" Trevor yelled, pumping his fist excitedly as the Flame Pokemon flew through the smoke, zeroing in on the dark type. It roared loudly, Absol having no place to go as the shining green claw struck it across the side, sending it flying off to Astrid's end of the battlefield.

"Absol is unable to battle! Trevor and Charizard are the winners, and they have earned another point for Lumiose University in the IPL standings!" the referee declared, Ash and his friends cheering as Trevor jumped up excitedly, running towards his Charizard, both looking stunned by their victory. Even the Coumarine students were applauding, many clearly impressed by the effort, helped along by Astrid who was heading over to Trevor to acknowledge his well deserved victory.

"Looks like it's your turn next, Ash," Dawn said, nudging him as she pointed over to where Night seemed to be getting ready near his Coumarine teammates. "Marie said that guy is pretty strong, so don't get cocky. Apparently he placed high in the Indigo League with his Charizard."

 _A Charizard. Perfect!_ "No need to worry, Dawn. I'll be fine! Greninja and I are gonna win this thing for sure!"

"Stay sharp, Ash. Clemont and Trevor got us on a good run, so take this one home!" Flint called out to him as he set off for his place on the battlefield, his friends cheering for him as he went. He met Trevor on the way, giving him a high five for his impressive battle.

"You'll cheer me on as well, right Pikachu?" Ash asked as he reached his spot, looking up at Pikachu on his shoulder. "Greninja and I are gonna need your support."

"Pikapi! Pika!" Pikachu nodded, hopping down to stand at Ash's side, both looking ahead as Night made his way onto the field.

When he was in position, the referee stepped forward, the crowd cheering loudly for Night, desperate for the points much like Lumiose was. "This will be a one on one battle between Night, of Coumarine College, and Ash, of Lumiose University. The winner will be declared when the opposing Pokemon is unable to battle. Are both trainers ready?" Both nodded, pulling out their pokeballs as the referee lowered his arm. "Let the battle begin!"

"Jet, you're up!" Night shouted, throwing his pokeball forward, the crowd cheering as the Flame Pokemon emerged. Ash's eyes widened at the sight of it, noticing its strange black colouring, and not due to Mega Evolution like Alain's Charizard. _A shiny Charizard...awesome. Greninja should like this._

"Greninja, I choose you!" Ash finally called out, throwing out his own pokeball, the Ninja Pokemon emerging in midair, flipping and landing softly before folding his arms and standing straight.

The crowd grew quiet at the sight of Greninja, many likely aware of his special form from Astrid or knowing about the Kalos League. Night, however, didn't stay quiet, ready to get the action started right away. "Jet, use Flamethrower! Don't let up on that Greninja one bit!"

Ash smirked at that. If Night wanted to play it that way, he was more than willing to go along. A fast-paced battle was just his style. "Greninja, Double Team!"

"Gren!" As Charizard, or Jet apparently, sent out his flames, Greninja quickly split into dozens of copies, all of them spreading across the battlefield. Jet followed Night's orders, though, keeping his flames going in an attempt to ensure Greninja couldn't rest.

Ash had given himself all the time he needed, though. "Now use Aerial Ace!" he shouted as the right side of the field was burned up, Greninja's copies disappearing as Jet scorched through them with another massive Flamethrower. As he burned through the last few, however, the real Greninja wasn't there. At least, not on the ground.

"NiiinnnJA!" the Ninja Pokemon cried out, seemingly appearing out of nowhere as he slammed his leg down hard across Jet's back from his place above him in the air. The Flame Pokemon roared in pain, his large body rocketing down to the ground as Greninja prepared for his next strike, Ash already moving with him as they started to get in sync.

"Water Shuriken!" He could already feel it. He could feel his heart racing. He could feel his blood pumping. He could feel his heightened senses.

"Gren!" Greninja, quickly formed two stars of water in his webbed hands before slamming them together, combining them into a larger attack. Then, he whipped it down, sending it spinning at full speed towards Jet, the Flame Pokemon attempting to fly away, but struck too quickly as the shuriken slammed against his back.

"Yaaahhh!" Ash could hear his friends cheering, Serena and Bonnie the loudest, the latter standing atop her seat. "Keep it up, Ash!"

"Jet won't lose that easily!" Night called out, smiling as Ash looked back to the fire type. "Blast Burn! Let's go!"

 _Blast Burn?_

It made Ash freeze a moment, and he could see the hesitation in Greninja as well as his water type landed, looking ahead as Jet turned, roaring loudly as he slammed his dark fist into the ground, an all too familiar sight. In one moment, Ash saw Night and Jet, and in the next, he saw Alain and his Mega Charizard.

He could hear the crowd, infinitely louder than the one present at Coumarine College, roaring in enthusiasm as the battle continued, Ash and Alain down to their last Pokemon. It was the Kalos League finals, and Greninja and Charizard were going blow for blow with one another, Aerial Ace meeting Thunder Punch, Cut meeting Dragon Claw, Flamethrower burning through Double Team and Water Shuriken fending off Blast Burn. Neither side was giving an inch, but Ash could feel it in himself _and_ Greninja that the battle couldn't go on too much longer. He was sure Alain felt the same.

 _Water Shuriken!_ Ash shouted, his desire and Greninja's urging the two of them to put all of their strength into this attack. It _had_ to work. It was their last chance and it would take everything they had to pull it off.

 _Blast Burn!_ It was Alain's last ditch effort, seeing something in how Greninja was acting, sensing something beyond what he and Ash had already accomplished in their connection. For a brief moment, Ash saw it, the shuriken above Greninja spinning rapidly, glowing and radiating heat as he threw it forward. Charizard sent his fist plunging into the ground at the exact same moment, fire and smoke tearing up the ground as the attack rushed towards Greninja.

The explosion shook the stadium, both Ash and Alain staggering back as they were buffeted by the wind generated from the attacks. Ash gasped, feeling the pain that Greninja felt, clutching at his chest as he felt the fire bite into him and the rocks chip away at his sides. He had no idea how Charizard was faring, but Ash knew _he_ could barely hold on. He just hoped he could help Greninja do so.

But as the smoke and steam cleared, both Pokemon stood, Charizard stumbling forward a moment, and Greninja staggering but managing to stand straight. _Hold on..._ Ash told himself, vision blurring a little as he stared ahead. The crowd was silent, watching and waiting to see if the battle would continue, and if not, which of these powerful fighters would emerge the victor. And across the field, Alain was still and silent as well, nervously watching, but holding faith in his Pokemon as he narrowed his eyes in Ash and Greninja's direction.

 _Gren...ninja._ That moment of doubt. Ash felt it, and so did Greninja, their connection barely holding after the exhaustion of battle, both of their minds dulled. Why hadn't that last Water Shuriken done anything? How strong was Charizard? Why was it still standing? Why were they so...tired?

 _Greninja..._ He could see his faithful Pokemon falling. He couldn't do anything, but he desperately tried to hold their connection, doing whatever he could to encourage his loyal water type to hold on. It wasn't enough, though. Charizard held on longer, and Greninja, and Ash, couldn't keep up. _No..._

 _Flamethrower!_

 _What?_ Ash blinked, suddenly seeing only Greninja ahead of him, the Ninja Pokemon tensed up as something seemed be approaching him. His body was smoking a little, and Ash realized it must've been from the Blast Burn. _Night's Blast Burn._ He shook his head, his mind foggy as he tried to see through the smoke that now seemed to be all around them, the air feeling hot.

Time seemed to be moving slow, and as Ash finally noticed the flames from Jet firing towards Greninja, he could feel his water type's resolve. He could feel it in himself. They wouldn't lose this. This wasn't Alain, and even if it was, they weren't going to stand by and lose. They'd lost once, sure, but maybe they simply hadn't been strong enough. As long as they continued to trust each other, and as long as they continued to work hard together, Ash and Greninja, and all their friends, knew they could accomplish anything.

"Ash!" he heard his friends call, concern clear in their voices, watching him seemingly frozen as Jet launched his flames towards Greninja.

His eyes flashed with determination. _Let's do this Greninja!_ He said in his head, knowing his faithful fighter could hear him. Ash could feel the pain of the landed Blast Burn, but as Greninja stood taller, so did he. _Much much stronger!_

"Jaaa!"

The flames impacted with full force against Greninja. Ash could feel it. He could feel all of it. It burned, and it hurt, and it made Ash want to yell out from the pain. His eyes watered, the heat becoming almost unbearable. His friends could clearly see his discomfort, many crying out to him. Even Coumarine students seemed concerned, murmuring as they noticed the state Ash was in, gasping in pain as Greninja fought against the flames.

"Pikapi!"

Ash wasn't going to give up, though. He and Greninja could handle this. They could fight through it together. They could fight it as one.

"Hang in there Greninja! Full power!"

Water burst into the sky, a torrent of it erupting from where Greninja stood. Steam billowed into the air around him, Jet's flames battering against the water surrounding his body. Ash could hear the loud hiss of the flames as they evaporated. They couldn't match Greninja. They couldn't match _Ash-Greninja._

"Ninjaaa!"

The water seemed to explode around him, completely extinguishing the flames and slamming into Jet like a tsunami. Students near the front of the stands were even hit by a spray of it, many too shocked to complain. And as Jet struggled to stand, staring up in shock at his opponent, Ash saw his trainer's jaw drop, equal surprise in his eyes.

Ash barely noticed why, so focused on the battle now, senses heightened beyond anything he could remember for a long time. Even in his recent battle against the Chesnaught Sycamore had him battle, Ash hadn't felt like this. It was like his battle against Anton, with no doubts about their abilities. It was like his battle with Alain, with more strength coursing through their veins. It was like his battle with Sawyer, with increased focus. His eyes, and Greninja's, barely noticed the yellow aura, there for just a moment before withering away.

"Cut!" Ash finally ordered, bending low, pulling the watery blade from his hip, feeling it in his grasp as Greninja produced the real thing.

Night and Jet could only watch in shock as Greninja blitzed forward, slashing outward and sending his fiery opponent soaring past Night. Ash didn't want to let up, though, knowing they had more. Greninja knew it too, holding his blade up high as he jumped up, ready as Night quickly ordered a Shadow Claw, Jet managing to right himself midair and flying forward. As he approached, Ash felt the desire and the trust more than ever as he and Greninja swung their sword together, a purple mist surrounding it.

"Night Slash!" he heard people in the crowd shouting in surprise. It didn't matter to him in the moment, though, gritting his teeth as his attack met Jet's.

For a moment, Jet held strong, proving himself a valiant fighter, his whole body behind his attack while Greninja simply held his sword with one arm up. It was no use, though, Greninja forcing his slash through, sending Jet hard into the ground. The Flame Pokemon barely moved, looking just about ready to pass out. Ash wanted to end it, knowing he needed to be careful with the increase in power Greninja had.

"Water Shuriken!"

"Gren!" the Ninja Pokemon yelled, his blade dissolving in his webbed hands before his arms went to his back, pulling the shuriken away, glaring ahead at Charizard as it tried to rise up once more.

"Hang in there, Jet! Put everything you have into one last Blast Burn!" Night shouted, his voice betraying that it was a last ditch effort.

Ash was excited to see what would happen, though, Greninja seemingly waiting a moment as Jet rose, bringing his fist up to launch his attack. Then, in the same instant, just as with another opposing Charizard a few months back, Greninja and Jet unleashed their attacks simultaneously, flames bursting from the ground as a rapidly spinning shuriken propelled towards Jet.

This time, however, Ash knew his attack would prevail, he and Greninja slicing into the ground with their watery blade, extinguishing the flames rushing towards them. Meanwhile, Jet was struck with full force, the large shuriken exploding against his body, steam hissing into the air as he fell. This time, he didn't rise back up.

"Charizard is unable to battle! Ash and Greninja are the winners, earning another point for Lumiose University!" the referee declared loudly, pointing in Ash's direction.

For a moment, it was quiet, but then, Greninja turned, his form fading away, both he and Ash stumbling a moment as their connection ended, but both fine overall. It felt different from their small victory in Sycamore's Abilities class, even though that had proven they were back on track. This victory felt like they were truly paving the way to grow stronger together once more.

Ash and Pikachu headed out towards the Ninja Pokemon, a little slowly at first, but as he really thought about how far they had come since collapsing in their first match, Ash felt re-energized by the excitement. He broke into a run, reaching Greninja a moment later and hugging the Ninja Pokemon, who croaked in response, a little surprise, but returned the hug nonetheless.

"You were awesome, Greninja," Ash said, stepping back, smiling at his loyal fighter. "I don't think we've been able to fight like that since the Kalos League. I bet we could've given Diantha a good fight again with how you were moving!"

"Gren!" Greninja said, nodding and pumping his fist, apparently liking that idea. Ash laughed at that, knowing that if he could, Greninja would've gone head to head with the Champion's Gardevoir that very moment.

"Hey Ash." Both Ash and Greninja looked up as they noticed Night approaching, their opponent helping his Charizard to stand upright as they managed to make their way forward. "You were just as strong as Astrid said you'd be. Thanks for the great battle."

"You too!" Ash said, shaking Night's hand. "That Charizard, I mean Jet, he's really something else. Had me nervous for a bit there."

Night simply laughed at that, Jet nodding tiredly towards Greninja in acknowledgment of the latter's victory before being recalled into his pokeball. For a moment, Night stood there, watching Greninja a moment, before nodding to Ash and turning to return to his teammates, each of them looking pleased with their efforts, even if they didn't get the results they wanted.

"Three points," Ash whispered, looking to Greninja, and then Pikachu, remembering that they'd managed to accomplish a little more in their victory than a successful use of the Bond Phenomenon. He looked up towards the scoreboard that Coumarine College had set up, which displayed the various teams in their group and the points they'd earned thus far. He was shocked to see that Laverre and Shalour had already finished their battles as well, with Laverre actually having lost one battle.

 _1st Place: Laverre University (8pts)_

 _2nd Place: Shalour College (7pts)_

 _3rd Place: Lumiose University (3pts)_

 _4th Place: Coumarine College (0pts)_

"Looks like the Battle Team still has a good chance!" Ash smiled, turning as he noticed his friends approaching, Serena at the front of the group, looking up towards the scoreboard as well. "You guys can get within one point of Shalour College if you win the next meeting with them."

"It'll be tough Korrina there," Clemont said, taking a deep breath as he too looked at the standings, "but we're a different team now."

"We're a lot stronger," Ash agreed, nodding. "We're not missing out on our chance to get into the playoff round!" He then looked to Serena and Dawn, the latter looking over to the Performance Team of Coumarine, their group looking ready to give their school something to cheer about. "You guys will do great as well, I'm sure of it."

"We can't give up now," Serena assured him.

"Right! We're the Lumiose Luxrays!" Dawn added, looking back. "And the Luxray Storm has just begun!"

 **Author's Note:**

Crazy chapter with two big battles, even if both were dominated by the eventual winners. However, I think both were important, and obviously Ash winning an IPL match...I don't know...I was getting the sense that a couple of people here and there wanted to see that. Maybe I was wrong, though.

As for Trevor and Clemont, I wanted to show their battles, but I felt they would've taken away from Ash's and Anton's. It was more about showing the two rivals. Having two wins not shown after all those losses is probably a bit disappointing, but my thinking was the tournament was where we saw the group truly getting back into form. Perhaps Trevor beating Astrid is...out there, but Charizard's sort of been Infernape's (Flint's Infernape) study buddy. Also, neither mega evolved, so there's that. And Ash's battle going last was meant to be like an exclamation point on their victory. His teammates got them out of their slump and he finished things off. Hopefully that makes sense.

With the mini dream sequence/flashback, it was simply meant to show he'd really moved on from what was an issue from Chapter 1, that being the loss to Alain. Obviously, a Charizard was the perfect opponent for that.

Next time, let's hope the Performance Team can give Lumiose University a good showing as well, and we'll also see how Anton fares against Gurkinn in Shalour City. After that, we'll get to the dance, and then...final exams! How fun!

This leads to a small announcement...or I guess a big announcement. After the next three chapters (Chapter 40, 41 and 42), I'll be ending _this_ story as Part 1 of Lumiose University. For the second half, I'll be publishing as a different story and there will be a bit of a break in between as I try to get things a little more organized so everything can finish off strong. Part 2 will be shorter, but it should be much more exciting as we get into some more Ash-Greninja stuff, the remaining IPL matches, the Ash-Anton rivalry, the Serena-Gabby rivalry, the Pokemon hunters and perhaps some pearlsh- I mean amourshipping. I give more details when we get to that point, though. See you next time.


	40. Anton's Challenge

**Author's Note:**

Long time no see. I apologize, but not to worry now. Lots of good stuff to get to the next couple of chapters so might as well get on with it. The IPL continues now!

 **Chapter 40: Anton's Challenge**

Serena had to admit it. With the Battle Team emerging victorious with their sweep over Coumarine's team, she felt the pressure to put on a special performance herself. Obviously she was overjoyed by their wins, but now she needed to look ahead to her own match, and her own test against whoever she'd be going up against from Coumarine College.

"You sure you want to do the Theme Performance?" Shauna asked suddenly, snapping Serena out of her thoughts as they waited backstage in Coumarine's Performance theatre. "You're probably the better bet for the Freestyle Performance."

"Don't be silly, Shauna," Serena said quickly, shaking her head in disbelief. "You could've just as easily made it to the finals at the Masterclass. You're one of the most talented performers in the whole region. A change in our set-up might get us out of our rut, so I think we should try it."

Shauna didn't look totally convinced, but Serena gave her an encouraging smile, pushing aside her own doubts and nervousness as she looked to the curtains blocking the stage where the "host" for Coumarine was preparing the audience for the matches. "If you say so, Serena," Shauna finally murmured, sitting down on the bench next to her. "I really want to win today."

Serena frowned at that, hearing the seriousness in Shauna's tone. Of course it had been tough to lose those first matches, but she didn't realize how hard it seemed to have hit Shauna until now. "We'll be fine. Look at what Ash and the others did. They gave us the momentum we need!"

"I know..." Shauna whispered. "It's just... _I_ want to win. I got us _all_ off to a bad start on day one by losing the first match to Laverre. I feel like it's my fault."

"It's not your fault at all," Serena assured her, seeing who she assumed was her opponent, Vanessa, getting ready at the other end of the room, her Chikorita in front of her. "We all had a rough time, but we'll keep on pushing and we'll win today, just like Ash and the others. Don't think of this the way that Laverre does. Have _fun_ with it, Shauna."

Shauna looked up in surprise at that, staring curiously at Serena. She was silent a moment, but then she smiled, shaking her head. "Maybe I let them get into my head too much. Fun _is_ why we started performing in the first place. Of course...winning is fun," she added, looking towards the stage, someone signalling for Serena to go, the audience now cheering.

"Then we'll do just that, but no matter what, we'll keep on smiling," Serena said encouragingly, standing up. She felt good. She felt ready. This was their chance to get back on track, and not just for points, but for exactly what she was telling Shauna. She'd head out there with a smile, and no matter what, she'd leave the stage with a smile as well. Training with Absol had clarified all of that for her. Performing could bring joy to anyone, as long as they gave it a chance and embraced it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the host called out as Serena started to head out to the stage, blinking a little from the bright lights, "please welcome, from Lumiose University...Serena!"

She was surprised at the cheers, the Coumarine crowd far more willing to cheer for the opposition than Shalour. Serena waved back, spotting her friends near the front row, Ash holding up Riolu who was shouting out in glee. She was growing more and more excited as she looked towards the host again, a man with blue hair and a white suit, who she believed was named Charles. He was a little strange, actually, but definitely energetic as he continued to try to pump up the crowd.

"And now, for our very own! Please welcome Vanessa, our grass type performing master!" he shouted out, a few students getting on their feet as they cheered for their classmate. Vanessa seemed a little embarrassed, but smiled nonetheless as she came on stage, giving a polite nod to Serena.

As the crowd cheered, Serena decided to call out Sylveon, who she would be using for this event, knowing her fairy type would be particularly good for what they would be doing. In the back of her mind, she'd even thought about Absol, but decided he still needed some more time before going in front of a crowd like this. In the tournament, he'd been able to distract himself within the battle, but here, he'd be truly in the spotlight. _Soon_ , Serena thought, thinking about the day they'd be able to perform together. _Really soon._

With both Serena and Vanessa now ready to go, Charles waited a moment for the crowd to settle, before speaking up again to explain the first competition. "For the Theme Performance today," he announced, two people coming from backstage with a pokeball each in their hands, "our performers will be demonstrating the kindness and gentle spirit required by a Kalos Queen."

With that, the first person, nearest Vanessa, opened up their pokeball, a Tauros emerging in front of them. The Wild Bull Pokemon immediately appeared to live up to its classification, crying out loudly and stamping its feet at the front the stage. The crowd near the front seemed nervous. Serena couldn't really blame them, already knowing this would be a little more difficult than she'd thought. _If only it was a Rhyhorn._

"Of course, not only will Vanessa and Serena need to display their gentle side, but also their strong side. These Tauros will not be tamed easily!" Charles warned, although he gave a knowing smile towards both the girls, and Serena realized that while they were being tested and that this would be challenging, if anything bad happened, they would be kept safe. It didn't change the fact that she knew this was somewhat dangerous, though, and that it would be very difficult. "Vanessa!" Charles then called out, apparently surprising the other girl. "Your task is to tame this Tauros, and calm it down enough to return it backstage and back to our lovely assistants. Coumarine College, let's give her some support!"

"YAAAHHH!" the crowd cheered loudly, seemingly giving Vanessa the little boost she needed as she stepped towards the centre of the stage, Serena and Charles moving back and staying out of the way.

"When you're ready, Vanessa!" Charles announced, followed by one more loud cheer, before everyone went quiet with anticipation. Serena could even see the judges, each watching intently, Sycamore in particular looking fascinated by the task she and Vanessa had.

Vanessa started quickly, clearly trying to avoid letting nerves get the better of her and her Chikorita in the face of the admittedly intimidating Tauros. "Use Vine Whip!" she ordered, taking the aggressive approach, sounding nervous, but firm in her call.

"Chika!" the small grass type cried out, two vines quickly shooting forward as it jumped out, taking aim at Tauros, who stomped its feet and locked eyes on his opponents, which seemed an appropriate term to Serena.

The Wild Bull Pokemon deflected the vines with a shake of his head, making it impossible for Chikorita to grab his horns, which seemed to be what she and Vanessa were going for. Serena was surprised to see that it seemed to be somewhat battle ready. Given the fact they were performers, it didn't seem right to force them into a situation like this, taking on a strong Pokemon.

"Moooo!" Tauros cried out again, taking a few steps forward. Serena did get the impression it had been trained to not charge, so she supposed it wouldn't be quite like a battle, however, it did seem to intimidate Chikorita, who stared back in fear.

"It's okay Chikorita, just take it easy," Vanessa tried to encourage her Pokemon, although she looked more uneasy herself. "Try a Razor Leaf!"

"Ka! Chika!" Chikorita responded, sending a few sharp leaves flying towards Tauros, who once again deflected the attacks with ease. Serena could see this was going to be no easy task as the Wild Bull began to stomp and cry out, the people in the front row looking nervous that it might turn around and attack.

 _How am I supposed to control that thing? Sylveon can't beat it in a battle,_ Serena thought to herself, wincing as Chikorita charged in with a Tackle attack, before getting thrown back with a dismissive looking Horn Attack from Tauros. It didn't seem to be as energetic as Ash's Tauros, but Serena could definitely see physical attacks would not work for her, much like they weren't working for Vanessa, who failed once more in an attempt at having Chikorita use a Vine Whip towards Tauros' legs.

She tried to think of what she could do to make this more like working with a Rhyhorn. At least she understood how they behaved, and what they liked. She wouldn't need to worry about trying to overpower it. If only she'd asked Ash more about _his_ Tauros, or paid attention more when he'd used it in their battle with Dawn and Tierno. She was in a tough situation here, seeing how Vanessa was struggling. Poor Chikorita was once more going in with a Tackle attack, easily getting tossed back.

Serena's eyes then drifted over to Ash, wondering how he was reacting to this, likely having his own idea of how to do this. From his place in the crowd, he was watching intently, leaning forward in his seat with wide eyes. He almost seemed to sense Serena's eyes on him, however, turning a moment later and locking eyes with her. It surprised her a little as he just gave her a small, knowing smirk, almost like he thought she would have an easy time with this. Her confusion seemed to get through to him, though, and his eyes narrowed as he looked back to where Vanessa's Chikorita had finally managed to land a decent Vine Whip attack, which unfortunately seemed to make Tauros thrash around more.

Serena focused on the back and forth between Chikorita and Tauros a moment more as well, at least a little relieved to see that Chikorita had managed to adjust a little, using her small size to get under Tauros to hold it with a Vine Whip. It wasn't looking clean, but at least the grass type and its trainer seemed to be succeeding in their task in the end. _Sylveon isn't small enough for that, though,_ Serena thought, clenching her fists. _And her feelers won't be able to do what those vines can._

Looking back at Ash, she noticed that he'd returned his gaze to her, seemingly trying to tell her something just with the look on his face. He had Riolu in his lap, the small fighting type looking intently at the events on stage. As Ash pointed to him, Serena smiled, the Emanation Pokemon glancing towards her and smiling back. As soon as Ash saw it, he nodded, deciding that he'd sent his message apparently. For a moment, Serena was confused, watching as Vanessa's Chikorita managed to pull her Tauros offstage and finish up. However, thinking on how she would do this task if it was a Rhyhorn, Serena realized she didn't really need to change her approach that much. Battling wasn't her thing, so making this a battle wouldn't work. She was a Performer hoping to be Kalos Queen one day. That meant one thing. _A smile. That's all I need._

"Let's give a round of applause for Performer Vanessa!" Charles called out, as a bell rung out to signal she had finished. "And while we're at it, let's welcome Performer Serena to the stage, along with her Sylveon!"

As Serena stepped up, giving a small wave and a smile towards the cheering crowd, she noticed an assistant step forward with another pokeball. She was still a little nervous to go up against the Tauros, but she knew she needed to stay strong and confident. She refused to give up, knowing that it _was_ in her power to do this. And alongside Sylveon, she was even more emboldened.

A moment later, as the cheers died down, the Tauros was called out, the Wild Bull Pokemon stamping its feet and crying out loudly. It was slightly larger, and seemed to be even more energized than the one that Vanessa had dealt with, but Serena didn't let it get to her. She took a deep breath, and waited for Charles to give the signal. And when he did, she was ready, just as Sylveon was.

"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind, but make it light," she said calmly and quietly. Many in the crowd likely didn't hear her, but Serena made sure she looked straight at Tauros as she gave the order, smiling at the stomping Wild Bull Pokemon, hoping that he had heard her.

"Veon!" Sylveon cried out as she stepped in front of Serena, her feelers raising up before a light gust of pink wind was propelled forward. It was just as Serena had hoped, the crowd gasping in awe as the fairy attack gently blew across the stage, gaining Tauros' attention and causing it to stop stomping and roaring immediately. It seemed awed by the move itself, as though the Fairy Wind had been somewhat comforting to it.

Its eyes then met Serena's and she took a step forward, smiling once more as she called for Sylveon to spin, sending a Swift attack into the air, her fairy type performing the attack perfectly. The golden star shot out, spinning above the crowd, before exploding into golden sparkles that fell across the crowd, mixing with the remains of Fairy Wind. Tauros turned and watched a moment, looking quite calm as it turned back to Serena, she and Sylveon now side by side. Serena reached her hand out, Sylveon taking hold of it with a feeler, before the two started to walk forward together.

"Tauros..." Serena said slowly, keeping her pace slow, watching as the Wild Bull Pokemon watched her cautiously. The crowd was surprisingly quiet now, many looking stunned by the approach Serena was taking. "My name is Serena, and this is Sylveon. We'd love to be friends with you."

They took another few slow steps forward, and although her heart was pounding from nervousness, Serena could see it was working. Tauros wasn't stomping, or crying out in distress. In fact, it looked curious, turning once more to see the lasting effects of Sylveon's brief Fairy Wind and Swift combination over the audience. And as it looked back to Serena, it seemed to return the smile.

When she and Sylveon reached Tauros, Serena took a deep breath, reached out, and rested her hand in its mane. It didn't react, with the exception of a small tilt of its head as it looked at her out of the corner of its eye. Sylveon then let go of her hand, moving around to Tauros' other side, reaching up with her feeler and holding onto the Wild Bull Pokemon from there. Then, the three started to walk, Serena only needing to take a step forward for Tauros to follow.

Those first few steps, all of them in complete silence, were all she needed to know that she had won.

* * *

"Why should I battle with you?"

The crowd was completely silent, watching Gurkinn closely, seeing how he would react. It definitely was unusual for them to see someone defeat Korrina so effectively, and it was clear that many were curious to see if Gurkinn could pull off the victory his granddaughter couldn't. It had been a while since he'd been the full time Gym Leader, and few had likely seen him in action.

 _Anton, you idiot,_ Gabby thought, watching the tense moment on the field ahead of her, clenching her fists as her brother called out his Scizor. _It was your own fault. It was your own damn fault. Why can't you accept that?_

It wasn't that she liked Gurkinn or Korrina. In fact, she didn't really have much of an opinion about either of them, not knowing them well enough. She had, admittedly, harboured a grudge against them for years after the incident with Anton, but as time went on, and as she developed as a trainer herself, she realized how childish her brother was that day. Well...how childish he'd been ever since.

It was their father who had truly made her see it. He wasn't a fighter like Anton, or as artistically talented as Gabby, but he knew Pokemon better than anyone else she knew. He had always respected the gym leaders, and as Anton grew bitter about them, their father encouraged a different perspective. Naturally, Anton didn't listen, but Gabby tried to see it from the other side, and when she did, she realized the true poisonous nature of what Anton had done.

She understood it, but she would never accept it again. He was young back then, but if he didn't take responsibility, he had no future to look forward to. No trainer should have reacted the way he had. Losses sucked, and Gabby knew she'd had her fair share of meltdowns, but to abandon your Pokemon after just one...it was gutless. Gabby didn't accept losing the way those students at Lumiose University seemed to, but if she lost, she analyzed wherever she went wrong, and she made sure she corrected the problem in herself and in her Pokemon. It didn't have to be fun, but it didn't have to be the disastrous end that Anton made it seem back then.

"You humiliated me once before. I'm not letting you do it again. Don't you dare back down from a challenge in front of all your students," Anton suddenly called out, bringing Gabby's attention back to the field. "I want them to see what you're truly like."

"What are you talking about?" Korrina asked, looking completely dumbfounded. "My grandfather hasn't done anything to you!"

"I lost my Pokemon because of him. My Vivillon and my Fletchinder." Gabby winced, hearing the emotion leaking into her brother's voice. She had to pity him for that. He _did_ at least care about the Pokemon he'd left behind. "I'll never know what happened to them. It's all because _he_ humiliated them. He mocked us in our battle."

"That Scizor..." Gurkinn said, studying the bug and steel type in front of him. "You're the boy with the Scyther." He looked to Korrina, nodding in the direction of the stands for her to leave them. She hesitated a moment, but obeyed, joining her surprised friends in the crowd. "Are you aware of the job that gym leaders are responsible for?" the man finally asked, turning back to Anton. "Are you aware of what our purpose is?"

"You're responsible for battling young trainers and encouraging them on their quests for badges," Anton answered, his anger making him sound much less composed than usual. "You're supposed to _help_ them, not humiliate them."

Gurkinn nodded, watching Anton closely, remaining far more composed than Gabby's brother. "Indeed, we do hope to do so. We battle all kinds of trainers, each of them hoping to grow on their journeys for badges and a shot at the Pokemon League. In our battles, trainers find something within themselves and within their Pokemon, putting everything they have into emerging victorious. Many learn on the spot, their lessons coming from victory.

"However, sometimes the greatest lessons come in defeat. Gym leaders are not weak, boy. They are some of the most talented trainers in their respective regions. Many could win the matches they eventually lose, yet they put themselves on even terms with their opponent, giving them the chance to pit themselves against stronger opponents to grow their Pokemon and improve themselves. And sometimes, they find a trainer with great potential. Sometimes that trainer has the talent to go far. Sometimes, that trainer needs to understand that _they_ are not the unbeatable force they believe themselves to be. If you get too far, if your Pokemon fight tooth and claw for you and you defeat every challenge in your path, there will always be that challenge that sets you back, and then, you lose, and your Pokemon lose.

"A trainer is responsible for keeping a level head. A trainer is responsible for understanding their Pokemon. You did neither. You were destined to fall, and that fall could have been disastrous. Perhaps I was too late, and for that, I apologize. I'll accept your challenge."

"Yeah, beat him good, Anton!"

"Shut up, Dean," Gabby snapped, shoving the boy back into his seat as he stood up. He bumped into Raphael as he sat back down, the man looking surprisingly bored at what was going on with Anton on the field. Gabby supposed it was normal, the Battle Team coach never _truly_ being interested in what they did, usually leaving them to practice on their own, or with Valerie. Her thoughts were distracted from that, though, as Dean started to clap excitedly once more.

He wasn't the only one excited, though, many in the crowd now murmuring as Gurkinn headed over to the opposite side of the field, calling out his Lucario as he reached his spot. Gabby had to admit she was curious as well. Obviously, Gurkinn had had no need to use Lucario back in that battle with Anton so long ago, but it did seem he felt it was worth it here. Although...she had a sinking feeling that was actually very bad news for her brother. She just hoped he would react appropriately after this battle.

"Prove that you're one of the best trainers Kalos has to offer," Anton called out. "I don't want any of your tricks."

Gurkinn stayed silent at that, simply looking to the surprised referee who stepped forward, raising his arm. "This will be a one on one battle between Anton, of Laverre University and former Gym Leader Gurkinn, of Shalour College. The winner will be declared when the opposing Pokemon is unable to battle. Are both trainers ready?" Both nodded, Gabby seeing the rage in her brother's posture. He desperately wanted this, but Gurkinn would definitely not be easy to defeat. "Let the battle begin!"

"Bullet Punch!" Anton ordered, shouting out the command just as the referee finished calling for the battle to start.

Gurkinn didn't respond, watching calmly as Anton's Scizor launched itself forward, pincer closed and glowing. It reached Lucario in an instant, arm pulled back before being thrust forward just as quick as the move's name would suggest.

Lucario slid past it easily, Gurkinn calling out his first order as the Aura Pokemon stepped to the side, Scizor slamming his pincer into the ground as he missed his target. "Double Team."

"Ru ru!" Gabby looked to Anton as he glared across at Gurkinn, obviously sensing this was going to be quite difficult. As Lucario's copies spread around the field, surrounding Scizor, it clearly seemed to agitate him. Gabby only hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself the angrier he got.

"Speed up with Agility!" her brother shouted, scanning the multiple copies of Lucario as he tried to spot the real one. As Scizor darted around, speeding up as he moved, Anton seemed to find something, pointing ahead quickly towards an area closer to the stands. "Bullet Punch again!"

"Zor!"

The Pincer Pokemon shot forth again, noticeably faster this time, slamming his glowing pincer into the form of Lucario that Anton had pointed out. Unfortunately for Anton, he'd guessed wrong, Scizor's pincer slamming into the dirt, leaving him vulnerable for the quick counterattack that Gurkinn called for.

"Bone Rush!"

"Ru!"

Gabby's eyes widened as she saw the copies of Lucario run forward, all looking converging on Scizor in an instant as he pulled his pincer out of the ground. The bug and steel type had no counter as the true Lucario struck, the other copies disappearing as his glowing bone struck Scizor in the chest, sending him into the air.

"Close Combat." Gurkinn ordered next, Gabby looking away and grimacing as Lucario jumped up, unleashing a ferocious assault on Scizor in midair. Her brother was _not_ going to take this very well.

"Not good..." Dean muttered, losing much of the excited energy he'd had just moments ago. "This old man is tough."

Gabby nodded, although not really thinking much on Dean's words. She could see that Raphael wasn't particularly interested in watching this anymore, the man getting out of his seat and walking away, shaking his head. It irritated her a little bit, and she even noticed Valerie looking displeased by it, but she decided to let it go, returning her attention back to the field, where Scizor was now lying facedown, Lucario a few feet away.

"I don't want to hurt your Scizor. There is no shame in ending this battle here, Anton," Gurkinn called out, looking as unhappy about this battle as Anton did, although with less anger in his eyes and more disappointment. "Whatever you felt I did to wrong you, can be settled elsewhere. We don't need to continue this fight."

"That's where you're wrong. This is the best place to settle things!" Anton yelled out, seeming like a completely different person from the one that usually sulked around on his own, never saying much to anyone other than Gabby. "Scizor, up and use Swords Dance!"

The Pincer Pokemon wasn't one to give in this early, especially if his trainer wasn't going to, and Gabby couldn't help but smile a little as he shot up from the ground, high into the air to avoid another quick strike from Lucario, before swinging his arms out, raising his attack power. This seemed to strengthen the resolve in Anton, and he immediately got right back into taking the battle to Gurkinn.

"Fury Cutter!"

"Hold it off with Bone Rush," Gurkinn responded, Lucario calmly forming another bone of blue light in front of himself, bringing it up just in time as the glowing, sharpened red pincer reached him, Scizor still holding his boosted speed from using Agility earlier. The two Pokemon strained against one another, Scizor desperately trying to break through as Lucario held strong against him. Gabby was glad to see that Scizor was pushing Lucario a bit, but she did wonder if Gurkinn was holding back a bit.

Anton obviously seemed to be thinking so as well, immediately grabbing onto his bandanna that hung around his neck, taking the Key Stone he had there. "If you're not going to take this battle seriously, I'll make you take it seriously!" he shouted. "Scizor! Mega Evolve!"

Gabby squinted as the lights of the Mega Stone and Key Stone surrounded Pokemon and trainer. It was always a stunning sight to her, and it would never get old. As frustrating as Anton could be, _this_ was something he deserved to be praised for. His hard work with Scizor had created a deep and powerful connection. It seemed to even impress Gurkinn, who nodded towards Anton as the lights dimmed, revealing the hulking form of Mega Scizor, its massive pincers looking menacing as they strained against Lucario's Bone Rush.

"You hold a special connection with that Scizor," the old man said, holding out his arm band with his own Key Stone. "However, you still have much to learn. Lucario, Mega Evolve."

And once again, the field was engulfed with the bright lights of Mega Evolution, Lucario's form changing as he connected with Gurkinn. "Ru ru!" it cried out loudly as the lights dimmed, his aura pulsing as his ears raised up.

Gabby tensed up, seeing that the battle was now at another level, both Pokemon shoving hard and sending each other stumbling back. They stared at one another, as did their trainers, each ready to respond to the next move. If Anton was going to have any chance, he needed to be at his absolute best in this moment. Gabby knew there was no way he could match Gurkinn if the elderly man managed to take advantage of his Mega Evolution.

Fortunately for Anton, he seemed to be locking himself into his right state of mind for battle. He was starting to look much calmer now that both Pokemon were at their best. "Bullet Punch! Let's go!"

"Dragon Pulse."

Gabby couldn't help but lean forward in her seat as she watched, Anton's Scizor now bursting forward while Lucario raised an arm, a shining orb if energy forming at the end of his palm. Scizor was fast, though, and with Mega Evolution, it was even faster. He slammed his massive pincer hard into Lucario's chest, slipping under his raised arm and driving him up into the air, carrying him as he too flew up.

"Ruru!" Lucario barked out, clearly winded, but not giving in. Suddenly, the draconic beam fired out, striking Scizor, who clearly didn't expect the attack. The Pincer Pokemon was propelled straight back down to the ground, crashing hard into it as dust and smoke flew up around him. Both trainers knew that wasn't it, though, each immediately ordering another attack.

"Fury Cutter!"

"Bone Rush!"

As Lucario descended from the air, Scizor burst out of the smoke, flying up to meet him. His glowing red Pincer clashed with Lucario's blue bone of light. Each seemed even in strength, even with Scizor's earlier boost from Swords Dance. They strained hard against one another, and Gabby knew that this would be a huge turning point in the battle, neither Pokemon backing down. Or rather, it seemed that way.

"Double Team," Gurkinn suddenly ordered, stunning Anton, and many in the crowd, as Lucario suddenly began multiplying, the clash in midair quickly ending and causing Scizor to stagger. It left him vulnerable as a few copies jumped up from where they stood on the ground. "Close Combat!"

"Fight 'em off with Bullet Punch!" Anton shouted out, sounding flustered once more, clearly sensing what Gabby had noticed.

Gurkinn had Anton right where he wanted him.

The Lucario copies from below reached Scizor quickly, the first few disappearing upon contact, causing him to stagger back once more in surprise, before he began to desperately attack, causing the next few to vanish. However, each thrust with Bullet Punch didn't seem to do anything, each copy vanishing, and the true Lucario remaining hidden.

That changed a moment later, a shape descending from above and crashing hard into Scizor, before unleashing a barrage of kicks and punches, each more ruthless than the last. Gabby almost wanted to look away, wincing at the beating Scizor was receiving. She realized it wasn't that unlike Anton's Marowak beating Korrina's Lucario. Unfortunately for Anton, it seemed to be leading to the same result.

"Dragon Pulse," Gurkinn finally ordered calmly, his Lucario grabbing onto Scizor's chest and aiming into its centre.

The explosion midair said it all, and Gabby and her team watched in silence as the Shalour crowd cheered. Scizor's body fell and hit the ground quickly, his form reverting to normal as the referee declared Gurkinn the victor, his Lucario landing softly and returning to him. Gabby could see Korrina and a few of her teammates excitedly running up to them, and it made her a little sick inside. She hadn't supported the idea of the battle, but she supported her brother one hundred percent in wanting him to win it.

She stood up slowly and began to head towards him, watching as he made his way towards Scizor. As she slowly approached, she couldn't help but smile to herself, seeing the tenderness in how he consoled his Pokemon. It was true what Gurkinn said about these two. They did have a special bond.

"You okay?" Gabby asked quietly as she reached her brother, knowing that he'd probably bite her head off if she was anyone else. "Tough match…"

"Yes…" he answered, patting Scizor on the back as it sat up. "I was...a little too sure of myself I suppose."

"It was dumb," Gabby said simply, ignoring how her brother bristled at her words. "No need to go and start something like that. Makes us all look bad. Even Raphael didn't seem to care for it, and you're the one person he seems to like."

"I don't really care what-"

"Well you should," she interrupted, shaking her head as he looked at her. She knew he was glaring through those stupid sunglasses of his and she glared right back. "You've been worse than ever since our match with Lumiose. You know you did beat Ketchum, right? He fainted, so you won. You didn't need to prove you were unbeatable."

"This wasn't about Ketchum. This was-"

"Yeah yeah...revenge. Sure, whatever," Gabby muttered, shaking her head. She had to admit, she was surprised with how irritated she was. She supposed this was just something that was too much, with Anton being so obsessed with proving others wrong and being the best. It was a waste of time and energy.

"Anton."

The voice made both Gabby and Anton jump a bit in surprise as they noticed Gurkinn walking towards them, his students a little ways behind him. His Lucario was next to him, mostly looking fine, although still looking slightly tired, which was af least a sign that Anton had pushed it.

"What do you want?" Anton muttered, avoiding eye contact with the man.

"I wanted to tell you how impressive your Scizor was. You've raised it very well," Gurkinn acknowledged, surprising Anton a bit, by the look on his face. "You seem very close, yet you do have a barrier between you."

"I don't want to hear it," Anton answered quickly. "You got to humiliate me again. Now leave me alone."

"Trust me, boy, I do not take joy in defeating young trainers in front of an audience." There was an edge to his voice now, and Gabby couldn't help but look closely as he finished. "See things for what they are, young man. Do not hide behind a veil."

* * *

"Finish off with with Rapid Spin, Blastoise!" Tierno shouted loudly, spinning around himself as Blastoise dropped down from above his opponent, Brian's speedy Jolteon. The buzzers went immediately as the electric type was hit, wobbling back as Blastoise got up.

Dawn cheered from her place backstage, ecstatic to see Tierno finally pull off a victory. He may have beaten her in tryouts, but it had definitely been a tough transition for him to take on the challenge of coordinating full time. If this match was anything to go by, however, he was starting to adjust really well, with his dancing style essentially nullifying Brian's and Jolteon's entire strategy of confusing with speed. Blastoise had simply danced his way out of every corner, getting Tierno the early lead and never looking back, even with a few good pushes by Brian as he'd tried to adjust.

"And with that, Lumiose University earn themselves their third point for their Performance Team!" Charles called out, the crowd murmuring in disappointment, a little less jovial now that it was apparent they could end up getting no points out of this weekend. However, Dawn noticed Astrid lead the applause as Tierno and Brian shook hands, the two of them then heading backstage.

"Good luck, Dawn," Tierno said, looking ecstatic about his victory. "Finish this thing up!"

"No need to worry," she said confidently, heading out to the stage as Charles called her, and her opponent, Leeroy, out for the final match. _Everyone's bounced back so far,_ Dawn told herself, taking a deep breath as Charles got everyone prepared for the double battle. It was going to be a tough one for sure, but Dawn knew she needed to win this and build off of what her friends had done. Serena had definitely taken the pressure off with her display in the Theme Performance, making it fairly easy for Shauna to go out and dazzle the audience in her own performance. And now with Tierno having won, Dawn just needed to finish the job.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," Charles called out, pointing to the scoreboard that displayed Dawn's and Leeroy's pictures, along with their score counters, "it's time to get this match going! Will Leeroy manage to earn Coumarine City a valuable point in the IPL standings, or will Dawn finish things off in style for Lumiose University! Let's give 'em both a big round of applause and hope for a great match!"

"Good luck," Leeroy called out, just as he held up two pokeballs, Dawn doing the same. "I've heard you're one of the best coordinators out there, so make sure to give me your best."

Dawn nodded, planning to do exactly that. She then took the lead as she called out her two Pokemon first. "Spewpa! Buneary! SpoootttLIGHT!"

The ball capsules burst open in midair, the seals shooting out hearts around the two Pokemon as they emerged, Buneary doing a little flip before landing, and Spewpa doing a simple spin. Leeroy looked in awe for a moment, but he was quick to send out his own Pokemon, his Gardevoir that he'd had out with him when they'd all met emerging alongside an Ursaring in a burst of stars. It made Dawn a little uneasy to have Spewpa out there, seeing how tough the opposing Pokemon looked, but she knew she had to have faith in the bug type. It had worked hard, and she wanted to see how it would do.

"Two stunning entrances!" Charles shouted in glee, the audience cheering loudly. "Now, let's get to the good stuff!"

Dawn waited for Leeroy to take the first move, knowing it would be better to be cautious with Spewpa being new to this. If she made an early mistake, she could fall behind, and she couldn't afford that if Spewpa had a hard time keeping up. Fortunately, Leeroy was willing to take the lead, smirking as he called out his first orders. "Sasquatch, use Bulk Up!" he shouted, his Ursaring responding with a roar, before Leeroy looked to his Gardevoir. "Honey, use Shadow Ball on Spewpa!"

"Deflect that with Ice Beam, Buneary!" Dawn quickly countered. "And Spewpa, spin away and use Harden!"

"Bun bun!" Buneary cried out, flipping forward as Gardevoir, or Honey apparently, sent the dark orb of Shadow Ball towards Spewpa, who began to glow with Harden, before spinning behind Buneary, who sent out her Ice Beam.

The attacks exploded against one another, pieces of ice shooting into the air at the centre of the stage, sparking in the lights. It earned a gasp from the crowd, and Dawn noticed Leeroy's points drop a bit. She knew she needed to keep it up, though, wanting to ensure she didn't get overwhelmed by the strength these Pokemon likely had.

"Buneary, use Bounce! Spewpa, String Shot!" Dawn ordered next, hoping they could pull off the combination they'd been planning. She could sense Piplup's nervousness next to her, but she remained confident. _Spewpa can do this, and so can Buneary._

"I don't think so!" Leeroy called out with a laugh. "Honey, Teleport! Sasquatch, get ready with Hammer Arm!"

The crowd seemed to think this was a bad sign for Dawn, excited murmurs audible, but she only narrowed her eyes, watching Buneary leaping high into the air as Spewpa took aim. "Buneary!" the Rabbit Pokemon cried out in excitement, twirling in midair to the crowd's delight. However, a moment later, as Spewpa fired its web upwards, Gardevoir appeared in front of Buneary, high above the stage. "Bun!"

The crowd was sure this was the turning point for Leeroy, and Dawn could see he thought so as well. Unfortunately for both, it wasn't. Dawn smiled, punching the air, Buneary already prepared with her strike. "Dizzy Punch!"

Her ears glowed white as she spun in midair, striking out with both and battering them against Gardevoir. The psychic and fairy type looked completely stunned, crying out in shock as her face and chest were hit with full force. It wasn't over, though, Buneary ending her assault as Spewpa's String Shot reached them. The Rabbit Pokemon did one more flip before descending back towards the ground, aiming straight for Ursaring while a dazed Gardevoir was wrapped in webs.

Ursaring was ready, however, its massive arm lashing out as Buneary reached him. The two met with full force, Buneary's Bounce attack meeting the supercharged Hammer Arm head on, shaking the stage with the energy it produced. Ursaring managed to just edge out Buneary however, pushing through and sending her sliding across the stage as a wrapped up Gardevoir fell next to him.

Dawn winced, seeing Buneary struggle to stand after the impact, but the Rabbit Pokemon looked pleased with their success, smiling back. Dawn smiled as well, taking a quick glance at the scoreboard to see that she'd only lost a few points, while she'd managed to already get Leeroy down to just around sixty percent. They had a good lead. Now they just needed to hold it, and bring it home.

"Spewpa, you ready?" she called out to the bug type, who cried out in response, looking eager to keep up their momentum, the crowd whispering in excitement as they sensed the next stage of the battle.

"We're not going down without a fight!" Leeroy laughed out in answer. "Sasquatch, get ready with another Hammer Arm! Honey, use Psychic to free yourself."

Dawn knew they needed to take advantage of Honey being trapped, so she made sure to respond quickly. "Buneary, grab Spewpa and run forward! Spewpa, get ready with another String Shot!"

"Gard!"

Dawn's eyes widened, not expecting Gardevoir to respond so quickly, the blue glow around her body blowing the webs all away with one strike, just as Buneary started charging forward, Spewpa held in her ears. The bug type attempted another String Shot, but at a quick nod from Leeroy, Gardevoir teleported, appearing to Buneary's right and striking her with a Magical Leaf attack, the bright green leaves tripping her up and sending Spewpa falling towards Ursaring, who began to run forward.

Dawn had to think quick, focusing on Spewpa first, despite Buneary being sent into the air by a Psychic attack from Gardevoir. "Hit it with all you've got!" Leeroy yelled as Ursaring charged, raising its glowing arm.

"Harden!" Dawn shouted, not sure how much it would do, but putting all her faith in it.

"Spew!"

"Bun!" Buneary cried out as well, landing hard across from Gardevoir, who Leeroy ordered to use another Magical Leaf. _Hang in there, Buneary,_ Dawn thought, seeing her points fall below Leeroy's, who also lost a few as Buneary managed to duck underneath the Magical Leaf, glancing back as Ursaring reached Spewpa.

"Urrraaa!"

Spewpa glowed bright white as Ursaring's massive arm made contact. She cried our in shock from the impact, but Dawn gasped as she somehow managed to strain against it a moment, before being sent back, sliding across the stage and slicing into the ground with how hard she seemed to be thrust into it by the attack. Miraculously, though, she was holding on.

"Amazing! Incredible defence against a _very_ powerful attack. Looks like a few points for both sides after that!" Charles called out, the crowd cheering in amazement.

"Doesn't matter!" Leeroy shouted, Dawn looking to him after seeing both their points drop to approximately a third of their counter. "Buneary's wide open! Sasquatch, Hyper Beam! Honey, hold her in place with Psychic!"

"No! Buneary!" Dawn cried out in shock, knowing Spewpa wouldn't be able to help, the bug type still glowing from Harden as it breathed heavily in front of her.

Buneary was trapped, unable to move as a blue light enveloped her, holding her in place as Ursaring roared, an orange and yellow orb of energy forming in his jaws. Spewpa cried out in concern as well, her glow becoming brighter as though she thought she could use Harden to protect Buneary. It almost seemed to look pink.

"Lup?" Piplup suddenly cried out in shock, grabbing Dawn's leg as he pointed to a shocked Buneary.

That's when Dawn noticed it. As Ursaring unleashed his attack, the massive Hyper Beam rocketing towards Buneary, she too was enveloped in a pink glow, the new light almost overtaking the blue one from Gardevoir's Psychic. And as the attack hit, Dawn knew it wasn't over. And, looking back to Spewpa, she remembered that day training with Clemont, and how she'd used some kind of ability to protect Piplup.

As Buneary emerged from the Hyper Beam, looking tired, but mostly okay, Charles confirmed her thoughts. "Incredible! Spewpa has protected Buneary with its ability Friend Guard! A very rare, but very useful ability that helps an ally Pokemon in battle!"

Dawn smiled, knowing she'd gotten a little lucky, but also knowing Spewpa had gotten to this point with a lot of hard work so far. And looking back at the bug type, she realized their shock wasn't over yet, the Scatterdust Pokemon still glowing, but this time, two shapes emerging from either side of its body.

Everyone watched in stunned silence, the glowing form of Spewpa suddenly floating upwards, the light dimming around it as large, pink wings were revealed. The bug type seemed to sparkle in the lights of the stage, glittering as it spun around, different shades of pink on full display. Dawn was in as much awe of it as everyone else.

"As if it couldn't get any crazier, Spewpa has evolved into Vivillon, with the Meadow Pattern! Absolutely stunning! Let's see how Dawn puts this to good use!"

She already had an idea, having been preparing herself for this very moment. "Buneary, Vivillon, let's wrap this up!" she yelled confidently, knowing in her heart that this match was hers, even though she was just barely behind Leeroy in points. "Buneary, Dizzy Punch quickly, and Vivillon, get in there and help her out!"

"Bun!"

"Viii!"

Leeroy was too stunned to react, his Ursaring stumbling as Vivillon knocked into it while Buneary attacked Gardevoir. The psychic and fairy type was quickly overwhelmed, falling back after a ruthless assault from Buneary, the Rabbit Pokemon looking like she was dancing in midair, putting Dawn in the lead quickly. As Gardevoir tried to recover, Vivillon arrived, picking Buneary up off the ground before a counterattack could happen.

"Now, Ice Beam!"

"Honey, Teleport! Stay with Sasquatch!" Leeroy ordered, clearly hoping to mount a team defence. Dawn smirked at that, knowing she had him where she wanted him.

"Bun bun bun!" Buneary cried out as Vivillon carried her across the stage, unleashing the Ice Beam and forming a wall between the two sides. It seemed to confuse the crowd, but Dawn waited for her moment, knowing it would come.

"You can't hide from us!" Leeroy shouted. "Use that ice to our advantage! Magical Leaf to break it up! Sasquatch, Hyper Beam to follow it!"

Dawn knew she had a moment, Ursaring needing to recover after the last Hyper Beam, but she wasn't going to need it. "Buneary, hop down and get ready with Dizzy Punch! Vivillon, start using Gust!"

"Bun!"

"Viii!"

"Gard!"

"Urrraaa!"

All four Pokemon cried out as Gardevoir unleashed her attack first the leaves battering against the ice wall, cracking it and making the lights filter through it, putting Leeroy even with Dawn on the scoreboard. It wasn't for long, though, the effort to break the wall already looking to be too much for Gardevoir, who seemed to be slowing with exhaustion.

It was enough for Buneary and Vivillon, however, the former rushing towards the ice wall and finishing the job, ice crystals shooting up all across the middle of the stage as she battered against it, the crowd gasping at the display. Then, a moment later, Buneary leaped back, Vivillon flapping her newly formed wings ferociously, just as Ursaring roared, signalling his Hyper Beam was ready.

"Full power, Vivillon!" Dawn shouted, Vivillon crying out in answer.

The Hyper Beam never came. The wind generated from Vivillon's Gust fired the ice shards forward in a relentless assault. Gardevoir and Ursaring cried out as they were struck, each staggering back and falling over before sliding back further from Vivillon's gust. Both struggled to stand as the attack finally died down, but it was too late.

 _Bzzz!_

"And that's the match! The winners are Dawn, and her stunning team of Buneary and Vivillon! Lumiose University gets the point, earning themselves all four for their Performance Team!"

 **Author's Note:**

Nothing like finishing off a chapter after not getting to do so for awhile. Hopefully you enjoyed it. The first performance witn Serena was...different, but hopefully you see the meaning behind it. Kept it simple and put forward a smile. Just what was needed to get out of the losing streak. As for Dawn, a bit more standard, but we finally get Vivillon and confirmed Friend Guard. I was excited to get to that part, and couldn't wait to give Dawn a Vivillon. Meadow pattern suits her, right?

And Anton...ohhh boy is he a baby or what? I hope it was as satisfying to read as it was to write with having him get smacked around a little. He needed it. Now...what can he do about that?

I'll see you next time with...The Coumarine Dance.


	41. The Coumarine Dance

**Author's Note:**

Testing 1 2 3. Testing! Is this thing on?

It's me! Everyone's favourite fanfic author! Ha...ha...ha. I've missed you all so much, and I'm glad to be back with the next chapter or Lumiose University, which will hopefully give you some nice happy feelings. There is something I'll need to...um...discuss, but we'll get to that down below. For now, though, have some fun reading the chapter if you can, and let's see how this dance goes after our heroes pulled off the sweep of Coumarine in the IPL over the last two chapters.

 **Chapter 41: The Coumarine Dance**

Ash had missed this feeling. He'd missed it a lot. There were few things as sweet as training hard with your Pokemon, working through your hardships and using the support of your friends to achieve a hard earned victory. Sure, he'd managed to battle his way to victory in Professor Sycamore's tournament, and it had been fun battling with and watching his friends there, but this felt different. This was something they'd been working towards since nearly the beginning of their time at Lumiose University, and after their initial setbacks, they'd finally earned a much needed set of victories. It was a true team effort. And doing it as a team made it even more special.

"Wooohooo!" he heard Tierno yelling from the front of the monorail their team was now riding on, much to the delight of Bonnie. "I think I could dance for the rest of the weekend! We had some sweet rhythm today!"

"It was all so totally awesome!" Bonnie shouted in agreement, turning away from the window that she was excitedly staring out of a moment earlier. "Ash and Greninja were so strong, and they beat that really cute Charizard! And then Dawn's Vivillon was so cool!" She continued on like that for a few minutes, the rest of the group laughing in amusement as she described all their battles, or performances in Serena's and Shauna's cases. There were a few details that seemed a little exaggerated, such as how she described Ash and his movements with Greninja, but he had to admit that she certainly was perceptive when it came to describing most of it.

"You're gonna be an awesome trainer one day, Bonnie," he told her once she'd finished her excited reenactment of Dawn's final battle. "You definitely seem to notice a lot."

Clemont chuckled nervously at that, casting an uneasy look in Bonnie's direction as she stood up proudly at that, Dedenne chirping excitedly from her head. "Don't let her head get too big, Ash," he said quietly so she couldn't hear. "She'll be trying to battle Clembot when I'm not there, and who knows what'll happen then."

Ash shook his head, smirking as Bonnie and Dedenne twirled around excitedly before returning to stare out the window and look at the city down below. "Bonnie's smart," he said. "She won't go too crazy."

"Of course you'd say that," Clemont muttered, although he couldn't help but laugh. "She told me she wants to battle you one day," he added quietly, the two of them returning to their seats and looking out the window as well. "Seems like you've really got your..." He smiled, looking at Pikachu on Ash's shoulder. "Like you've got your spark back."

"I hope so," Ash told him seriously, taking a deep breath. He did feel like he was back to his usual self, though, he had to admit it. Winning that tournament was one thing, but that battle with Night and his Charizard was an entirely different obstacle, and it allowed them to really shake off some of their troubles.

"Do you guys think we have a good chance of catching up in the standings next semester?" The two of them looked up as Dawn approached them, sitting down next to them while Pikachu and Piplup joined up and left to explore the monorail. "We're only one point back of Shalour for the Performance Team, and if you guys can beat them in the next match, you'll be within a point for the Battle Team."

Ash felt excitement rushing through his veins at the thought. He couldn't wait to get to the next set of matches. Now that they had seen the other schools in action, it would make their next battles a little more interesting, and both sides would know a little more about what to plan for. "We'll be up against Shalour first, so we'll be able to catch up right away! We'll win for sure!"

"Maybe we should think about our exams first," Clemont pointed out, glancing over at Professor Sycamore, who was talking to Sophie at the moment. "We're going to be pretty busy after all of this. I'm still confused about what Shauna and I are going to do with Skitty for our Breeding class."

Ash shrugged, not feeling too bothered with the idea of the exams coming up. He knew he needed to be prepared of course, but he felt he'd learned a lot in his time at Lumiose University so far, and that with a bit more practice at things like his Health class and with a few more training sessions, he would be well prepared for whatever was thrown at him. "We'll all be fine," he assured Clemont, patting his friend on the back. "From what I've seen, Skitty is looking more and more ready each day, and I bet Grotle will be fine for Levels and Experience."

"Dartrix should be pretty fired up after winning the tournament," Dawn said, Ash nodding excitedly. He'd been looking forward to getting his grass and flying type a big win in their final exam together. He'd already grown so much since parking himself in Ash's backpack early in the semester.

"Dartrix has really trained hard," he added, pulling out Dartrix's pokeball and looking at it with a smile, feeling it shake slightly. "Maybe I can use him in one of our next IPL matches."

At that, Professor Sycamore's voice broke in, he and Sophie having finished their conversation. "I would be interested in seeing that, Ash. Dartrix might just end up being quite a special Pokemon for you. Hala has told me a few stories about its evolved form, Decidueye, over in Alola. It might even be possible for it to learn a powerful Z-Move."

Ash's eyes lit up at that, his mind replaying the Z-Move that Hala had used against Team Rocket with his Crabominable. He really wanted to try that out at some point, and he was definitely interested in seeing what else he could learn from Hala. His mind went to the meeting they'd had, and he couldn't help but wonder if Professor Sycamore was hinting about that, but he shook it off a moment later as their small group heard Tierno shouting out excitedly once more as he began to dance again in victory, his Chimchar now out and joining him.

"Oh this is gonna make a great shot!" Trevor called out happily, pulling out his camera as Chimchar got into a rhythm.

"Make sure you don't get yourself hurt before _tomorrow's_ dance," Shauna pointed out, giggling as Chimchar accidentally sent out a mini Ember attack that barely missed Trevor, and was fortunately shot down by a quick Bubble Beam from Piplup.

"I'll be able to dance no matter what!" Tierno answered happily, pausing as he looked over to Serena, who was next to Shauna. "Serena knows that!"

Serena chuckled nervously at that. "Haha...yeah, I'm sure you'll have all the energy you need." Her eyes drifted over to where Ash, Dawn and Clemont were, but her eyes seemed to avoid Ash's, which he didn't quite understand. He remembered what Dawn had said, still confused about her full meaning, but he had the sense that there was some connection. He just had no clue how to piece it all together.

Apparently Dawn thought something was up as well, because as soon as Serena looked away and everyone became distracted with their own conversations again, she headed over to where the two Performers were standing, Marie with them.

"I don't know how I feel about this dance thing," he muttered, not really directing it towards Clemont, but getting a response from him all the same. Although, he seemed more uncomfortable because of his sister.

"I hope Bonnie doesn't try to cause trouble," he said, sighing as he looked over to his sister. "I don't want Korrina to get...um.."

Ash looked at him, more confused now than a moment before. "Nervous about something?"

Clemont blushed, looking confused himself, but also embarrassed, shifting his position so Bonnie couldn't see him. "I...I guess. I-I don't know. I just...think Korrina's really...um...nice?"

"Um...yeah, of course she is. Why does that make you nervous?" Ash asked, looking over to Serena again, the Performer actually glancing back at him as Dawn whispered something to her before she moved over to where Tierno was, pulling him aside to talk. He then looked back to Clemont, who was shaking his head.

"No...well...it's not that. I mean...I don't want to look dumb." Ash was surprised at how red Clemont's face had gotten, and he was worried his friend was getting sick.

"Are you okay, Clemont?" he asked, a look of concern crossing his face.

Clemont took a deep breath, shaking his head a bit and appearing to recover. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't want to embarrass myself. Aren't you hoping to not embarrass yourself in front of Dawn?"

"Why would I be worried about that?" Ash asked, really confused now.

"Because you're going to the dance with her."

"So?"

"Doesn't that mean you like her?" Clemont blushed again, looking like he thought he'd confessed to something.

"Of course I like her. What do you mean?" Ash almost wanted to laugh at the question, but Clemont seemed genuinely curious. "I asked Serena first, but Tierno was already going with her. I like both of them."

Clemont gulped, looking uneasily at the two girls, before looking at Ash again. "We're not talking about the same thing, are we?" He chuckled a little, exhaling as he apparently decided to let it go.

"I guess not," Ash said, joining in on the laughter. "But hey, don't worry about embarrassing yourself. Korrina will have fun if you do."

"Yeah...okay." Clemont looked over at Serena again, and then back at Ash. "Ash?" he asked, sounding a little more serious. Ash looked at him questioningly, nodding for him to go ahead. "Maybe you should think about why you wanted to ask Serena to go with you."

* * *

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Clemont couldn't stop pacing as he waited outside. He was so restless, he was sure that Ash would look like a relaxed student in a classroom in comparison to him at the moment. _Just relax_ , he told himself for about the fifteenth time in the last minute. _Relax, or somehow, Bonnie is going to show up and make it all worse._

He jumped about a foot in the air as that dark thought became a reality a moment later, Bonnie bursting out of the Pokemon Centre they were waiting at, smirking at Clemont, clearly having been hunting him down for awhile. He may or may not have had Serena trying to distract his sister. Clearly that hadn't worked as well as he'd hoped, though.

"Is she here?!" Bonnie shouted loudly, a few people on the street looking over in surprise at the sudden noise. "I can't wait to see her!"

"Bonnie!" Clemont complained, readying himself to trigger his Aipom Arm.

"What? I just want to know when Korrina is going to be here!" his sister said, looking around, eyes lighting up a moment later. "Hey, is that her bus?"

Clemont turned around, hand falling away from the button for the Aipom Arm as he followed where his sister was pointing. There was, indeed, a bus approaching. However, he could immediately see that it wasn't Korrina's. "Laverre..." he whispered to himself, Bonnie looking up in confusion. "I wonder what this'll be like."

"Those guys are a bunch of meanies," Bonnie muttered, folding her arms in anger, Dedenne mimicking her from atop her head. "I don't like them."

Clemont didn't blame her, although he didn't want to start anything, knowing that this was supposed to be a battle-free event to bring the schools closer together, so he gently pulled Bonnie aside as the bus pulled up. When it came to a stop, there was a moment of silence as the engine turned off, and then the door opened, Anton, naturally, the one leading the group out. He looked unhappy...more unhappy than before if that was possible.

As the Laverre Battle Team captain led his team out of the bus and up the walkway towards the Pokemon Centre, he didn't even glance at Clemont and Bonnie, although Clemont was sure he had been noticed as he heard a quiet "hmph" from the boy. Gabby, his sister, trailed behind the group, looking like she was deep in thought about something, and surprisingly, she gave Clemont and Bonnie a polite smile and wave as she passed by them. Valerie meanwhile, stopped to greet them.

"Hello Clemont," the Laverre Gym Leader said kindly, smiling at him and Bonnie. "I heard about your victories yesterday. Congratulations."

"Oh...thanks," Clemont said awkwardly, glancing over towards the Laverre students again before looking back at her. "I hear you guys did well, too."

"Yes, it looks like we have a strong group of students," she said, although not exactly sounding too happy for some reason.

"Bunch of mean students," Bonnie muttered, Clemont looking at her in horror before Valerie chuckled.

"They're quite...devoted, that's for sure," she said, chuckling once again. "A little more time spent outside of their studies and training might do them some good, however. Hopefully they'll do so tonight at the dance."

Bonnie perked up at that. "If Clemont screws things up with Korrina, maybe you-"

"Bonnie!" Clemont hissed, bringing his hand up to trigger the Aipom Arm again, before looking up and seeing another approaching bus. "Hey, that must be their bus."

He wasn't comfortable having Bonnie there, but he couldn't help but feel excited as the Shalour bus pulled up behind the Laverre on. And when Korrina was the first to step out, a huge smile came to his face, which only widened as she noticed him waiting. "Clemont!" she called out happily, jumping off and jogging over to where he was, her teammates much slower behind her.

"Hey Korrina!" he called out to her as she slowed to a stop in front of him, greeting Valerie as she did so. "Sorry to hear about how your IPL match went yesterday."

"Ah, it's all right," Korrina said, shrugging and then giving Bonnie a little hug to say hi. "Anton's a pretty strong trainer," she pointed out, looking at Valerie. "It's going to take quite a bit to beat him, so next time I just have to be more prepared."

Valerie nodded, although she didn't look like she was remembering the match too fondly. "Anton is definitely quite talented, but he still has much to learn. His sister is a little ahead of him when it comes to understanding what needs work _outside_ of battling, or in her case, performing."

The comment surprised Clemont, although from what Ash had told him about Valerie, and from what he'd seen, she was quite different from what most of the Laverre University group had shown themselves to be. He wondered if something had happened in the match at Shalour yesterday, and he looked at Korrina questioningly, the Shalour Gym Leader giving him a look to let him know she'd tell him later. Bonnie on the other hand, was too curious to wait, clearly about to speak up. Korrina was quick, however, noticing Bonnie opening her mouth.

"So Clemont and Bonnie," she said quickly, giving his sister an excited look, distracting her, "how about we go and explore the city before getting ready for the dance later?"

"Yeah! We can show you some of the cool stuff we saw yesterday! And maybe we can go and see Ramos' gym and see his Gogoat! It's so cute, you have to see it!" She was off before Clemont or Korrina could say anything else, and they quickly said their goodbyes to Valerie, and waved to Gurkinn who was stepping off of the bus, before running after the energetic Bonnie.

They managed to catch up with her as she led them towards the downtown part of the city, she and Dedenne looking into the windows of all the stores and restaurants they passed by, but Clemont was too exhausted to keep up the pace, and Korrina made sure to get Bonnie to slow down as they continued to walk. Fortunately, Bonnie was too interested in the sights ahead to be interested in her brother's conversation with a girl, so she left him and Korrina alone as they trailed behind to chat.

"So, what was Valerie talking about with Anton?" Clemont asked as they walked, Bonnie and Dedenne peering through a window up ahead as a TV showed highlights of a recent performance showcase. "Sounds like something happened yesterday."

Korrina nodded, looking up as she pictured whatever events had gone on. "Anton got a little carried away yesterday," she said, letting out a nervous chuckle. "He challenged my grandfather to a battle after he beat me. He was saying something about his Pokemon being lost because of how my grandfather humiliated him when he was younger and challenged him to a gym battle. I sort of remember him from back then, but it wasn't a particularly different battle, other than how Anton reacted. But I'd seen young trainers get upset before, so I just thought he'd run off and get over it."

"How would losing a battle make him lose his Pokemon?" Clemont asked, confused. "Did they abandon him?"

"I'm not sure, but he did mention something about a Fletchinder and a Vivillon. I..." She trailed off, looking like she actually did feel guilty for whatever Anton was blaming her grandfather for. "I found a Vivillon in the forest a few days ago." Clemont waited, hearing the distress in her voice. "It was in really bad shape, Clemont. Not like Serena's Absol, but...something bad had clearly happened to it."

"You were looking for the hunters?!" Clemont knew that she had vowed to continue keeping an eye on things around there, but he really didn't like the idea of her going out on her own with the danger that was clearly present.

"I had Lucario with me," Korrina pointed out, somewhat indignantly. "And that Elekid was with me as well. I am the leader of the Shalour Gym, so I'm not going to let these people mess with my city."

Clemont sighed, nodding in understanding before he continued. "So do you think Anton's Vivillon could've been taken by these hunters back then? And his Fletchinder?"

"It's possible," Korrina said, looking a little pale as she thought about it. "It's so awful, Clemont. If this has been going on for that long, and if they've been taking Pokemon from right under our nose...it _is_ our fault."

"We'll stop them," Clemont promised her, not realizing he'd taken her hand until seeing her smiling down at it. "It's their fault, Korrina, not yours, and we'll make sure we catch them and hold them responsible." He noticed Bonnie up ahead, smirking back at them as she noticed the hand holding, but surprisingly, she didn't make any comments as they caught up to her.

"Can we get something to eat?" she asked out of the blue, looking across the street at a couple of the cafes and restaurants visible.

"That sounds like a good idea," Korrina said, taking Bonnie's hand with her free one. "I'm starving after that bus ride, and these places look really good. And maybe you can warn me about what Clemont might get up to at the dance tonight!"

"Hey!" Clemont complained, although he laughed, glad to steer away from the dark topic they'd been discussing the moment before.

"I can tell you everything!" Bonnie declared, Dedenne nodding from her head. "Make sure you're ready for an exploding invention."

* * *

The moment that Dawn had heard about Tierno going to this dance with Serena, she had been sure that something wasn't quite right. First of all, Tierno had made his mostly comical advances before, and Serena, Shauna, and herself on a few occasions, had easily been able to move him on to other things. But also, seeing the awkward interactions between Serena and Ash soon after had made Dawn realize it was an even more unusual situation.

So, naturally, she wanted to figure it out. Not because she was nosy, but because she didn't want her friends being uneasy around each other, and she wanted them to be happy. She was sure Tierno wanted the same as well, and when she approached him the night before on the monorail, asking him what was up, after getting vague answers from Serena, she felt she knew what was going on.

She was glad when Tierno seemed to understand. He liked Serena, that was certain, but it was clearly more of a playful flirting that he would do. When Dawn had told him that she was fairly sure Serena had wanted to go to the dance with Ash, Tierno had seemed to pick up on the clues as he looked back in hindsight. As the two of them had found out when thinking of some of their interactions, it wasn't particularly well hidden.

"It's actually pretty obvious, isn't it?" he said as the two of them were waiting in the lobby for their friends, both of them dressed and ready for the dance. He was in a simple black suit, which was surprising to Dawn, as she'd assumed he would attempt to dress up in something flashier for the dance. Meanwhile, she was in a simple, white dress of her own, similar to the one she had worn in a modeling competition she'd entered with Buneary.

"Just don't go blurting it out as soon as they're out here," Dawn muttered, shaking her head as Tierno continued, having been mentioning Serena's little clues many times throughout the last day when they'd seen each other. "Stick to the plan, okay?"

Tierno nodded, although he still shook his head in disbelief as he continued to think about little moments. Dawn supposed it was better than if he'd been upset, or felt guilty, but it did make her realize that their plan was going to be difficult to execute if he was going to be so obvious. Fortunately for them, though, Serena would probably think Tierno was just excited about the dance, and Ash would probably be thinking about battles or something else Pokemon related.

Marie was the first of their friends to arrive, wearing a pink dress that appeared to be a slightly "dressier" version of a Nurse Joy outfit, but nonetheless, it suited her. She had mentioned that the trainer from the Coumarine Battle Team, Brian, had asked her to go to the dance with him, and although they didn't know each other well at this point, she had agreed, because she "didn't have anything else to do". Dawn assumed she was trying to hide the fact that she was quite excited to have been asked.

Shauna and Trevor were next to arrive, Shauna also in pink, while Trevor was wearing a strange orange suit that matched the colour of his hair. Dawn wasn't sure if he was trying to dress like his Charizard or not, but it did somewhat appear that way. He seemed happy enough, though.

Clemont and Korrina arrived next, Bonnie trailing behind them, the three of them having been outside for a walk before returning to meet up at the Pokemon Centre. Dawn thought they suited one another well, with Clemont in a green suit, Korrina in red and white similar to her roller blade outfit, but far more formal. Bonnie was in a yellow dress behind them, her Dedenne even dressed up with a little bow.

Finally, Serena arrived, in a red dress that she had mentioned she'd had for a dance hosted by Monsieur Pierre many months ago. Tierno was easily able to forget any thoughts of not trying to flirt as he told Serena how stunning she was. Of course, Trevor wasn't much better. Clemont was more reserved, but Bonnie looked tempted to propose for him, and if Korrina wasn't there, Dawn suspected she would have.

"So...um...where's Ash?" Serena asked after a couple of minutes of the group waiting, only making a few comments about being excited for the dance.

Dawn couldn't help but shake her head irritably, giving an exasperated look to Piplup who sat at her feet, looking bored without Pikachu. "He said he was going to be the first one ready," she muttered, Clemont, Trevor and Tierno chuckling at the statement.

"I'm here!" came a shout, as if in answer. "Sorry!"

There was a collection of both exasperated sighs and chuckles of amusement as Ash ran into the lobby. He had a blue suit on, appearing a little more tidy than usual, but he'd clearly been having difficulties, as he looked quite uncomfortable. Dawn noticed his eyes drift over to Serena once he'd caught his breath, but he seemed to realize, much to her surprise, that it wasn't the proper thing to do when _she_ was his date. Not that it was really a date, but she supposed it was good of him, although bizarre, to look to her and acknowledge her first before saying the others looked nice.

With that done, Ash started to lead the group out so that they could finally make their way to the dance, with students from the other teams already on their way. When they stepped outside, Ash was the first one to let out his Pokemon, Bonnie delighted at the sight as she had the role of watching them. Dawn followed suit, noticing Buneary chase down Pikachu as he and Piplup walked up ahead. Meanwhile, Greninja was looking uneasy as he walked near Ash, although Braixen was eyeing him from Serena's side.

As they walked, Dawn edged over so she could walk next to Serena. "So," she started, glancing over at the boys who had gathered together, talking about the battles the day before, "are you excited about the dance?"

Serena likely knew what Dawn was hinting at, but she seemed to have decided to make the best of things. "Yeah," she said, smiling as she watched Pikachu glance back uneasily while Buneary hung onto him. Dawn had seen her eyeing Pikachu in a few training sessions, and it seemed like she thought the dance should be her chance. "I think it'll be a lot of fun," Serena finished. "It's nice to have the other schools here."

Dawn nodded, also thinking it was a nice change, although Laverre still seemed as moody as ever. "Do you think Absol will be all right?" she asked, glancing at the Disaster Pokemon at Serena's side. It appeared as though he'd allowed Serena to clean him off a bit, his fur looking a little fluffier.

"Pancham and Hawlucha are looking out for him," Serena said, giggling at the two who seemed to be walking behind like some kind of secret service, with Riolu doing his best to mimic them. "Riolu as well," Serena added, seeing him.

"How about you?" Dawn then asked, saying it jokingly as she nudged Serena. "You're not planning on running away from Tierno the first chance you get?"

Serena shook her head, smiling. "No, we'll have fun. Are you looking forward to...um...spending time with Ash?"

 _There it is,_ Dawn thought, turning away to hide her smirk. She had been pretty sure Serena would give a sign of her wish to spend the night with Ash, and there it was. "Ash is nice and all, but I don't think we'll be doing much dancing," Dawn laughed, looking back to Serena. "You're better suited for that."

The Performer blushed, obviously not sure of Dawn's specific meaning, but assuming it based on Dawn's expression. "I...what do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing," Dawn said, looking ahead, noticing the building where the dance was to be hosted. "Wow, look at all the people!"

They had learned earlier that many students from other extracurricular activities from the four schools would be invited as well, so other buses had been arriving throughout the day. It didn't seem to be overcrowding the place, but Dawn could tell it was going to be quite the party. She could see various students all dressed up, all making their way inside, along with a few teachers outside, helping to guide everyone. There were plenty of Pokemon as well, some of them even doing little performances, which caught Serena and Shauna's attention.

"Hey...is that...?" Shauna started to say, pointing to a red-haired girl up ahead who had gathered a crowd as she danced with her Delphox.

"It's Aria!" Serena shouted excitedly, she and Shauna running up ahead to see her, Dawn remembering that Aria was the very famous "Kalos Queen".

Their group quickly followed after Serena and Shauna, and as Dawn watched Aria up ahead, she could see why she was so popular, and why such skilled performers such as Serena and Shauna would be so in awe of her. She and her Delphox moved in perfect sync, displaying how close they were and how well they knew each other simply through the way they moved. And every command was so simple, yet so powerful, exemplifying the grace of Aria as the Kalos Queen, while Delphox executed perfectly, stunning the audience with beautiful displays of fire and psychic attacks.

As Aria continued, Dawn caught Serena looking excitedly to Absol, who appeared equally impressed by the display. "One day, Absol," she said, eyes lit up with joy, "that will be us! We won't give up until that day, okay?"

The comment didn't go unnoticed by Ash, who smiled in their direction, his own feelings that he didn't seem to quite realize just yet, still visible to Dawn's eyes. It was going to be an interesting night. Of that, Dawn was sure. _And hopefully,_ she told herself, exchanging a glance with Tierno, _Ash is going to open his eyes._

* * *

As they entered the large ball room that everyone was gathering in, Serena realized this was probably an even bigger event than Monsieur Pierre's dance a few months before. So many people had come, which she was really excited about, seeing a few familiar faces from Lumiose University who were in some of the other clubs she'd heard about. As their group made their way to a snack table, Ash and Pikachu leading the way there, Serena even saw Gabby and her Laverre teammates gathered in a small group, Anton sulking next to them, appearing to glare in Korrina's direction, before noticing Ash and straightening up a little.

"Wow, look at all this food!" Ash yelled as he reached the table, grabbing a plate and grabbing a variety of things to put on it without really looking. "We should just spend the whole time here!"

"I don't think so," Dawn muttered, narrowing her eyes in his direction, making him laugh nervously.

Serena had to admit that it stung a little that Dawn was here with Ash, and not her, but she knew it wasn't a true "date" between the two, much as it wasn't with her and Tierno, who seemed to have wandered over to watch Jimmy, his dancing rival from Laverre, who was demonstrating his abilities nearby. Serena wasn't going to let the misunderstanding with Tierno ruin the night, though. It would just be a fun event with friends.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The lights from the large chandelier overhead dimmed as a spotlight shone upon a figure at the top of a staircase that was revealed to be Monsieur Pierre, Aria now at his side, along with Fantina and Coumarine's own Charles. Everyone went quiet as they looked towards the group, those who hadn't seen Aria earlier the exception as they murmured in excitement. When it was completely silent, however, Monsieur Pierre continued.

"Bonjour to all of ze wonderful and talented students who are attending zis lovely dance zis evening!" he called out, Aria and Fantina nodding next to him. "It is my great pleasure to join in ze festivities tonight, and welcome you all to Coumarine City for a night of fun with friends and rivals! Congratulations to all of you on your accomplishments throughout your first term at ze lovely schools of Laverre University, Lumiose University, Shalour College and of course, Coumarine College! And a special congratulations to Laverre University, who ends ze term on top of ze standings in both ze Battle and Performance tiers of ze Interschool Pokemon League. However, tonight is not for battling and performing, but for celebration! So with zat, please enjoy your evening!"

As his mini speech ended, he bowed, taking Fantina's hand as the two headed down the steps together, the music beginning to play and the lights coming back on. It was a little sudden, but Serena noticed that many students were quick to begin, finding their various partners and heading out to the dance floor. She even noticed Marie quickly being whisked away by that boy Brian from Coumarine's Battle Team, and Clemont was both pushed by Bonnie and pulled by Korrina as a look of panic crossed his face. Even Shauna and Trevor took to the dance floor, neither apparently having planned it, but Shauna looking like she wanted to at least participate, and Trevor being in the near vicinity.

"Well, Ash..." Serena heard Dawn say as he did his best to stuff a few of the snacks in his mouth, while Buneary pulled his ally in Pikachu away. "Shall we?" She gave a knowing look to Serena, although she had no idea what it was for, before taking Ash by the arm and leading him to the dance floor while he appeared to give a perfect impression of Clemont's panicked look.

"Dawn, I don't even know what to do!" Serena heard Ash yell out as they disappeared into the crowd.

"Well you'll need to learn for later!" Dawn yelled back, the music drowning them out as Serena completely lost sight of them.

She had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but ignored it as she looked for Tierno, wondering where he'd gone off to. She couldn't help but laugh to herself as she realized he was fuming as he watched Jimmy gather an impressed crowd as he showed off his dancing. It was clear Tierno wanted to outdo him, but Serena decided it was better not to get into that just now.

"Tierno?" she called out to him, getting his attention.

He turned, looking like he was just realizing that the others were gone, quickly turning his head to see if he could spot any of them. When it was apparent everyone was gone, he gave Serena a guilty, somewhat apologetic look. "Sorry...got distracted." He seemed like he was still trying to spot the others for whatever reason, but Serena ignored it, nodding to the dance floor.

"Do you want to dance?" she asked, spotting Anton behind him, walking around the edge of the dance floor, clearly with no interest in dancing. Gabby was near him, dancing with that boy Dean from Laverre, and not looking like she was overly enjoying it.

"Sure!" Tierno answered, leading the way as the two headed out. When they found an open area, he awkwardly put his hand on her waist as she put hers on his shoulder and their free hands joined together. Before long they were one of the many awkward dancing pairs in the room.

As the music played, and Serena looked at the distracted Tierno, she got the sense that as much as he loved dancing...he wasn't particularly good at _this_ kind of dancing. Her suspicions were confirmed as he stepped on her toes a few times. At first, she had thought it was because of his distraction with Jimmy, but as the current song played, he did start to focus on the dance, and it didn't improve. For some reason, it made Serena a little more at ease, and the two began to laugh as Tierno stumbled along.

"Not enough rhythm to move and groove with ballroom dancing," Tierno explained, shaking his head as another song started to play. It was a slightly faster song, so it did suit him a little better, but when he did make a mistake, it had them both nearly falling over. Serena supposed that if he had the freedom to do his own dancing style, Tierno would be much comfortable, much like Jimmy, but with a partner, it was more difficult.

"Don't worry about it," Serena said, noticing Clemont and Korrina dancing a few feet away from them, Clemont looking like he was completely terrified as Korrina had them spinning around and around. "It could be worse."

Tierno followed her gaze, looking somewhat relieved to see another pair struggling, but then his eyes shifted and he seemed to be looking somewhere else. "It could be better, too. Maybe if there was someone else to dance with?"

"I agreed to come with you," Serena said, hoping Tierno didn't think she was disappointed with him. "Don't be silly."

"I know, but...if you could be here with anyone else..." Serena followed his look, noticing Ash and Dawn behind them, near the centre of the dance floor. They actually seemed to be doing okay, with Dawn guiding Ash along and the two of them laughing as they noticed Pikachu and Buneary dancing near them. The sight did fill Serena with a sense of longing, which Tierno caught. "If I'd figured it out, I wouldn't have asked you. I'm just playing around when I do all that flirty stuff, you know. Most of the time, anyways." He laughed, gently pushing them in the direction of Ash and Dawn as he nodded to someone behind Serena.

"What are you saying?" Serena asked, the current song sounding as though it was winding down. She felt the blush come to her face and she glanced back towards Ash and Dawn, seeing that Dawn was maneuvering Ash around as she guided them closer to where she and Tierno were. What was happening here?

"You'll see," Tierno told her, chuckling.

"No need to worry, Ash!" Dawn was saying. "You're learning! You can dance with anyone here!"

"I don't know about that," Ash muttered, the song quieting down as it finished. "This is already really hard."

"You just need the right partner!"

"Like who?"

With that, Tierno let go of Serena as he gently pushed her forward, while Serena felt someone bump into her from behind. She turned around, knowing who it was before seeing him. He seemed just as surprised as her, eyes widening as Dawn disappeared behind him. Serena glanced back, noticing Tierno was now gone as well.

"Wh-what is this about?" Ash asked, eyes meeting Serena's.

She was confused as well, but she was pretty sure she had a better idea of what was up, and she definitely wanted to scold Dawn for her meddling. This was more like something Shauna, or even Bonnie would do. It was definitely odd that Tierno got involved as well. Serena looked up, heart racing as the music started to play again.

"Serena?" She blinked, looking back at Ash, who was now smiling, perfectly happy to make the best of things. Not that this was bad...whatever it was.

She smiled as well. "Are you still interested in going to the dance together?"

"You bet!"

He took the lead, taking her right hand in his left, and putting his right hand on her waist, while she placed her left hand on his shoulder. The butterflies in her stomach were going crazy, and as much as she'd tried to enjoy her short time dancing with Tierno, _this_ felt truly special, and it had only just begun. Maybe she could forgive Dawn and Tierno for getting involved after all.

She tried to listen to the music as they began to move, but Serena wasn't really hearing much, her eyes locked on Ash's as he smiled back. He appeared a little shy about this as well, his hand leaving her waist a few times as he scratched his nose in nervousness, but as the dance continued, and as they moved on to another song, he did it less and less. And for her, the heat in her cheeks died down.

"So," Ash said, during the third song, this one a fairly fast one, "any idea what Dawn and Tierno are up to?"

Serena didn't want to say it, still too nervous to say something to him, but she tried her best to answer. "I guess...I guess they knew you had asked me to go to the dance with you. And...that I had wanted to say yes."

Ash's eyes widened at the answer, but Serena had a feeling he still didn't quite grasp the full meaning of what she was saying. "You wanted to say yes?"

She smiled, the blush returning. "Yeah."

"I guess I should've asked you sooner," he realized, looking embarrassed. His eyes drifted away a moment, and he laughed, pointing something out to her. "I guess Tierno's happy enough, though."

Serena laughed, seeing that their favourite dancer had returned to where Jimmy was, the two facing off in their own version of dancing. It didn't seem to match the music at all. Chimchar was doing quite well, though, in sync with what Tierno was doing, while Jimmy had his Gallade out, their own "rhythm" putting up a good fight.

As she moved her head to look back at Ash, she noticed that Dawn had joined Bonnie nearby where most of the Pokemon had gathered, Dawn encouraging Absol to dance, while Bonnie had grabbed onto Hawlucha, who looked like he was willing to accept the challenge of dancing. Astrid, who was dancing nearby with the captain of the Shalour Performance Team, Dusk, nodded to her own Absol who was moving over to join them, and Serena was amused to see it moving gracefully around Dawn and Bonnie to encourage her own Absol.

"So why did you want to say yes?" Ash asked, after another moment as they continued to dance. Serena could tell they were both becoming much more comfortable, and she realized she was edging a little closer to him.

She didn't know how to answer that without stammering like a fool, so instead, she stared back with a blank expression. _Say something!_ she told herself fiercely, not wanting to look like an idiot, but not sure what words to say. Ash was distracted before it became too embarrassing for her, though.

"Hey, Ketchum!"

Serena jumped at the sudden voice by her side, and she and Ash let go of each other as Anton appeared, glaring at his rival. He was in a purple suit, still sporting those sunglasses of his, and Serena had a feeling he had no interest in dancing with anyone. She noticed that a few feet behind him his sister was watching carefully.

"Hey Anton," Ash said back, acting his usual friendly self. "I heard about your win yesterday. Congratulations! I can't wait for our next battle!"

"Maybe you don't have to wait," Anton muttered, barely audible over the music. Serena saw his hand rising, a pokeball in it. "Sounds like you and your Greninja are ready for another round."

Serena felt a surge of disappointment, but did her best to hide it. She was so enjoying this dance, and she was so grateful to be getting the opportunity to be spending it with Ash. But now, it was all going to end too soon. She wasn't upset with Ash, as she knew he loved to battle, but she had hoped that this would be the one time a battle wouldn't be the first thing on his mind.

But apparently it wasn't.

"Sorry Anton, but I'm busy," Ash said, taking Serena's hand once more. "It'd be awesome to battle again, but maybe another time?"

Serena was stunned, and ecstatic, with Ash's response, but she could see that Anton wasn't going to let it go that easily. " _What?_ " he asked, venom in his tone.

"I can't battle right now," Ash told him, looking apologetically to Serena. "That's not what we're here for."

"You'd rather dance than-"

"Anton!"

If Serena was surprised by Ash's answer to Anton, it was nothing compared to hearing Gabby's tone towards her brother. Gabby had seemed different from Anton since the first time they'd all met, but it seemed as though she was particularly oppositional to him at the moment. It was a little intimidating to see the flare in her eyes.

"Can you forget about your ego for one night?" she asked, Anton. "You're such a... _child._ "

"This doesn't concern you," Anton muttered, glaring at her, peering over the lenses of sunglasses. "This is between Ash and me."

Gabby's raised voice had attracted a few eyes at this point, including Clemont and Korrina who were hovering nearby, the two of them exchanging a look like they knew what was going on. However, Gabby seemed to have things handled, and Serena couldn't help but feel grateful as she grabbed Anton by the shoulder and continued.

"No! This," she said, pointing to Ash and Serena, "doesn't concern _you._ Look around you! It's a _dance_! This isn't a battle. This isn't where you get back at Gurkinn for kicking your butt. Get over it and relax!"

Serena could see that Anton was seething, his pride hurt by whatever it was that Gabby was bringing up. She went along with it as Ash started to slowly guide them away, the two of them managing to get out of the reach of the now quarreling siblings. As Gabby finally took Anton by the arm and pulled him away, she caught Serena's eye, giving her a wink before the two disappeared.

"Well, that was weird," Ash said, looking uneasy at the two, while Clemont and Korrina came over to check on them.

"You guys okay?" Clemont asked, looking worried. "Anton looked pretty angry...Gabby even more so."

Serena nodded, smiling as she remembered Ash turning down the battle offer to keep dancing with her. "Yeah, it's okay. I guess Anton's just excited about getting back to the IPL."

"Maybe," Korrina murmured, shaking her head as she looked in the direction the Laverre siblings had gone. "I think that guy needs to just get a grip."

Clemont laughed nervously at that, actually appearing relieved as the next song began, and this one quite slow. "I'll explain later," he muttered to Ash as he and Korrina moved off in their own direction.

And then it was Ash and Serena alone again, and Ash seemed intent on sticking to what he'd said about not being here for a battle. "Well, ready to dance?" he asked, his own cheeks reddening a little as he and Serena resumed their position.

"Of course," she breathed out, barely able to believe that this was all real right now, listening to the music as they started to move with it. "Dawn taught you well in a few minutes," she noted, the two moving closer to one another. It wasn't just her doing so now, or so she was starting to think.

He laughed, looking down at their feet. "I guess I'm not doing that bad, huh?"

"Better than Pikachu," Serena pointed out, the poor electric mouse getting dragged along next to them by Buneary. She was quiet another few moments as the song continued, the music soothing as they swayed to it. "Thank you, Ash."

He seemed surprised by the gratitude. "For what? Not accepting the battle?"

"Yeah...and for everything else." She knew it wasn't quite what she wanted to say to him, but it was close enough for now. And saying it, she felt a lot better. What this was, it was something special, and now, she knew that more than ever. But...what exactly was it? She felt she knew the answer to that as well.

 _Love._

 **Author's Note:**

Worth the wait? Too much? I'm so confused since it's been so long. I think it was okay, though, with a few rough patches here and there. Just to confirm, though...no confessions, no kisses, no realizations by Ash (not completely). I tried to get as much of that feeling as possible without going there, so hopefully that was at least...passable? My standards are so high...

Anyways, off the topic of the plot for now, I'd like to just talk about the story and its writing and the future of it. As you may remember, I've been planning to end this part of the story as "Part 1" with chapter 42 (the next chapter) being the conclusion to the part. After that, there's a break until Part 2. And yes, there is going to be a break, despite the long gap here.

I put out a doc on Twitter to explain this much more thoroughly, so if you want to check that out, you can head on over to KingPoliwag on Twitter. For a condensed version, though, the honest thing to say is, I haven't liked writing LU for quite some time, and much of that is due to various difficulties outside of writing. I really need a break from it, and even though there's been a gap in the writing a few times, I've still been trying to write when I can, and it's just been draining.

I do want to finish this story, though, and Part 2 _will_ come out. But...it'll be about 6 months after the completion of Part 1. I'm thinking it'll be March of 2019. However, not to worry about me disappearing completely. I will be continuing on with the Bonnie story. To be honest, that story is probably what's helped me get to this point in LU the last few months. It's what keeps my creative juices flowing, so I'm going to let it get me on a roll, and then within a few months, LU will return and I'll go into overdrive and it'll conclude on a higher note than I believe it would if I kept going like this. If you can have patience with me, I hope to deliver.

But of course...LU part 1 still has to conclude, and it will do that fairly soon. Exams and winter break for our heroes are coming up, so we'll see where that goes. Thank you all for reading, and see you next time.


End file.
